Balancing sports and schoolwork is a struggle for Cascade High School student athletes who are often gone for half of the school day to play in a game or exhausted after exertion during ninety-minute PE classes during the school day and two-hour long practices after school. Extended absences result in athletes missing class and pushing homework into the late hours of night and negatively affecting the amount of sleep the student will get. Students who want to participate in school sports are often exhausted balancing the life of both an athlete and a student.
“I don’t ever have time to do school [on a match day] and when I come home late from golf I don’t have time to do schoolwork at all,” said Unger.
CHS should add a course specifically designed for student-athletes and becoming increasingly popular in public schools across the US: Athletic PE. Only students who play sports would qualify for this class focused on preparation for and recovery after athletic endeavors and dedicating extra time for completing homework. Athletic PE would count as a PE credit for student-athletes who need specifically designed curriculum to prepare for sports, recovery exercises designed to help them take care of their bodies after exertion and extra help staying on top of their class work. A typical week in an Athletic PE class includes the following: Monday, Tuesday, and Friday – weightlifting and strengthening exercises specifically tailored to the sport being played; Wednesday – game day – stretching specifically designed to prepare student-athletes for their athletic endeavor and study hall to make up work in missed classes; and Thursday – recovery exercises and stretches specifically designed for the sport being played.
Sure, students could use their Flex time to catch up on assignments. However, Flex time is usually taken up with activities such as Character Strong and Xello. Flex also only lasts twenty minutes and many athletes at CHS are missing three hours or more of class every time they have an “away” game.
Spring golf is one example of a sport at Cascade High School that can take significant time out of a student’s day. A golfer must leave school in the morning for away matches and during lunch for home matches. Most golf courses close around seven at night, so it is impossible for these golf matches to occur after school. By the time a match ends, it is after six and students want to prioritize eating dinner and going to bed at a decent time.
Baylee Unger (11) has been a varsity golfer since her freshman year, and she can admit that golf can have a large impact on her schoolwork. “I don’t ever have time to do school [on a match day] and when I come home late from golf I don’t have time to do schoolwork at all,” said Unger. If Baylee was able to have a course like Athletic PE, she “would finish up all my homework and make sure that I was caught up in all my classes so that I felt relieved of everything.”
As a coach and a CHS instructor, Mr. Haberberger knows how difficult it is for student athletes to keep their grades up while also having to spend their after-school time attending practices and games. “Time management is a big issue. All of a sudden you don’t have enough time [to complete assignments] cause you have to go to practice for two, two and a half hours, you have to eat dinner, you have to take a shower, you gotta do all this sort of stuff and then eventually what time that you don’t have, you can’t get the work done in that amount of time.” Athletic PE would help alleviate these stressors.
CHS counselor Ms. Schafer, who tracks students’ grades and schedules, believes that student athletes hold better grades while they are in an active sports season. “I actually think that most athletes do better when they’re in a sport then when they’re not in a sport. I see their grades come up. They actually get more done when they’re in a sport,” said Schafer. Because of grade checks, student athletes are more aware of where they stand with their grades. Coaches do a good job of hassling their players to keep their grades steady. Imagine how much their grades and athletic performance could be improved if they had the additional support of Athletic PE.
"I just want to go to bed instead of being on crunch time in school. It was very stressful," said Jackson Feeney (11).
Cascade High School already has a policy that students who play two sports during one school year can waive half of a PE credit. However, this is not well advertised to the student population and only a few know about this opportunity. Students must go to Ms. Schafer directly to request this waiver. “I think that students get a good opportunity to get their PE credits by doing two sports a year as well as taking the regular PE credits. I wouldn’t think that [Athletic PE] during the school day would be as beneficial as doing it before practice,” said Schafer.
Hab knows that CHS students can become overwhelmed by the high school workload and is attempting to help. “I’ll provide time in the morning before school if they want to come in and get help, then they can do that.” This is very kindhearted of him, but students already have limited sleep, so many wouldn’t want to reduce more of their sleep to come into school even earlier. This is also being offered to football and track players, but the extra, dedicated time is something that all athletes at CHS could benefit from.
Even with the end of the first semester, Cascade High School did not ease back on sports schedules. Student athletes were studying for finals while also participating in games and practices. CHS basketball player, Jackson Feeney (11), was one of these student-athletes who struggled during finals week. “The worst part was probably having away games or any games going so late because after any game, I just want to go to bed instead of being on crunch time in school. It was very stressful.” If Feeney was able to have Athletic PE for his first period “I could sleep in and get some actual sleep, or I would listen to music and get my work done either for the week or late work.”
Being a student athlete is difficult, as athletes are often taken away from school to play their sport and return late at night leaving no time for homework. Student athletes and their respective teams would benefit enormously from a dedicated class period where they can prepare for and recover from their sports commitments while also having spare time to complete missed assignments.
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