Athletes are expected to work, and work hard. Day after day we practice or play games, lugging two backpacks around, one full of books and the other full of putrid-smelling sports attire that will stink up our lockers for months.
Those of us who are athletes know that during school season, we practically live in the gym or on the field. There is always a consequence for missing a practice, whether it is bench time at the next game or an irritated coach. The outcome is a constant struggle between the obligation to attend all practices and anything else that students might want or need to do with their time.
As young adults working to build our futures, we have obligations besides school and sports. It’s all about balance. This can be difficult to achieve when other extracurriculars, leadership positions and part time-jobs inevitably interfere with practice times.
Last year, I was interested in joining mock trial, but my coach said that I couldn’t join during the volleyball season because I would miss too many practices. I felt like my options were limited: even if I had tried to convince my coach that I could do both, I would be punished for not seeming as dedicated or as worthy of playing time as the rest of my team. No student athlete should feel limited to only playing their sport because of the time commitment.
From a coach’s perspective, allowing more leniency for players with less than perfect attendance could mean that athletes on their team would ditch practice without having a real reason to. And an athlete who frequently misses practice might not be able to keep up with the rest of the team.
One solution might be to require athletes to inform the coach ahead of time if they will miss practice and for what purpose. For situations where there will be repeated missed practices throughout the season, scheduling between activities can be discussed before-hand with the coach, athlete, and whomever else is involved.
But even if a coach allows a compromise, the reluctance to allow it is omnipresent and will undoubtedly have an effect on how a coach views you. It’s important to be a team player and attend as many practices as possible, but that should not entail a life of sports and only sports for the duration of the season.
Unlike most club sports, school sports usually hold daily practices for several hours after school. While school sport seasons are shorter in comparison to club, each season is at least a third of the school year. Even if you decide to only play one sport all year, it will affect any activities or extracurriculars that are meant to be yearlong.
A short season is also countered by the sheer number of practices and games held throughout the season. Sports are intense, and especially at a school with such a competitive atmosphere, working hard and being there for games and practices is important.
But if it is necessary to miss some practices in order to accomplish other pursuits, then so be it. An athlete with obligations other than sports is not lacking dedication. In fact, these are the students willing to sacrifice more and work harder in order to participate in activities that interest them. School sports in particular should recognize that there is more to life than just sports.
We sign ourselves up knowing that it won’t be easy, but just because balancing sports and other activities is difficult does not mean that we should limit ourselves or suffer the consequences. There should be some leniency when it comes to understanding that missing a few practices may be necessary because there are other activities outside of sports that may be just as important.
With a new athletic director, changes in the athletic department should include encouraging coaches to set attendance policies that allows flexibility to student athletes who have conflicting extracurricular and sport schedules.
