Credit: Alyssa Ao

Wayland High School sports can take up a lot of time for some students, making their schedules very tight. With less time at home, some student athletes find ways to look on the bright side of things and are able to use their lack of time to finish their work faster.

For students at Wayland High School, juggling grades and sports can be challenging both in terms of time management and mental health. Although each sport only lasts for one season at WHS, some students play more than one sport and it can be draining to try and balance the two throughout the course of the school year. So, knowing these downsides, why do people still play school sports?

“There are definitely a lot of benefits to playing high school sports,” sophomore and varsity soccer and lacrosse player Elliot Koopersmith said. “For me, a lot of my friends play the same sports as I do, and it’s pretty nice to be able to bond with them outside of being in the classroom.”

Playing sports can also help some students with their mental health and can allow them time to take their minds off of other issues or problems they might be dealing with. Senior Ezra Wyner plays varsity baseball and he claims exercise after school helps him work better.

“Having practices serves as a healthy break for your brain after school,” Wyner said. “Plus, sports after school makes your time management skills much better because after practice, you don’t have time to procrastinate and you have to do your work.”

For some students, however, the time management can be difficult to handle. Sports can take up a lot of time and leave little time for schoolwork or studying. For sophomore Armaan Desai, who plays varsity lacrosse and junior varsity basketball, time management was something he had to learn.

“Before, managing my time to do my school work and play sports at the same time was pretty challenging,” Desai said. “But after talking with upperclassmen, I’ve learned to use my time wisely and sports actually help me do work more efficiently because I don’t have much time to slack off.”

Some student athletes might worry about finding methods of transportation to and from practices or games. Koopersmith explains that in some sports teams at WHS, upperclassmen offer rides for those who can’t find one.

“I also think that the environment of different sports teams at WHS is great,” Koopersmith said. “A lot of the upperclassmen even offer rides for people who don’t have one and I think it’s a great place for people to learn about different things and make new friends.”

Some students think that the benefits of playing high school sports outweigh the negatives. For Desai, the experiences that sports has given him overshadow the potentially challenging time management issues.

“Sports have done a lot for me and my family,” Desai said. “I’ve been able to play sports with my brother and I’m lucky to have my parents be able to watch me play sports. I think that the bonding I share with my teammates and family makes the potential time management issues I might have worth it. And for those who are unsure, I would definitely recommend getting into a high school sport.”