How to Balance Sports & Education While At Home
As the current pandemic situation around the world changing the way people live and limiting everyone’s capability to train outdoors, it’s especially hard on the students who have to balance their academics and sports training now while staying at home. It is important for them to balance both of their pursuits but in an environment different from what they are used to, which eventually leads to stress. Adults recognize the signs of stress and overscheduling and are able to control some of the competing variables, but what about children and their stressors? How does the student-athlete manage to achieve good grades and retain optimal performance on the playing field despite being stuck at home?
Here are a few tips for balancing Sports and Studies while studying at home:
- Getting and staying organized:
Get organized is vital while at home and maintaining the organized structure on an everyday basis. Use a big desk calendar for school and sports. Write down all due dates for work and papers that your teachers ask during online classes. Write down all sport’s practices and games that your coaches ask you to follow every day. Every week revisit your calendar and make corrections.
- Prioritize and plan:
Think about what is important to you and what interests you. If you have more interest in sports training, decide to give up on other activities later. You can simply finish your important work first like training and studies and then do other things if time is available. It will also help you to prioritize things from the beginning and instill a pattern of rewarding yourself when you stick to the schedule.
- Plan your week/month:
Take a look at your calendar and make a note of when you have projects due, tests scheduled, etc. Plan how you will study and when you will study along with your training at home. It is essential to stick to your plan religiously for efficiently balancing both sporting and academic pursuits.
- Do not procrastinate:
It is imperative to do assignments and homework as soon as you get them, rather than waiting until the last minute. Poor planning and waiting until the last minute will result in missed practices or missed assignments that lead to poor skill development and lead to the piling of studies, which will increase the stress. Understandably, homework and training at home aren’t on top of the fun list, but poor planning and waiting until the last minute could yield negative results.
- Take advantage of the extra time and research about your Interests:
Getting excited about certain parts of sports training and academics can be difficult. Look into books and other materials that will pique your interest in the subject. If you can be disciplined not to start surfing on the internet without any apparent motive, look for top athletes and other known names in the domains you have interest in to understand their mindset.
- Staying Safe indoors and maintaining your skillset:
It is impossible to ascertain as to when the situation will go back to normal or how life would be after a while. Staying indoors to keep yourself and those around you safe is of utmost importance. However, this does not mean that you can not maintain your skillset. Regular training and nutrition while focusing on academics, can significantly impact your overall personality. It’s better to stay ahead than to catch up.
Life’s demands never end. We only get better at dealing with the challenges that come along by learning from them. With more organization and time management, you will balance anything that life throws your way. At The Sports School, we are committed to providing students with both academic and sports training opportunities. We are offering online classes and encouraging students to stay in touch with coaches and mentors for maintaining their skills. Our belief that It’s a lot easier to stay ahead than it is to play catches up makes us encourage our students to put in the extra effort and time to prevent them from falling behind.
