Juggling School, Sports, and Self

School is a difficult task on its own, add sports and it becomes strenuous. We all know it takes a certain level of responsibility and maturity to juggle both simultaneously. How do Redwood’s student-athletes stay dedicated to their sports while keeping up with school?

By: Hope Murapa

Ammaya Chavez ‘27 says, “It’s a lot to handle, but I feel like it’s worth it because college is the goal here.” When asked which she valued more school or sports, Chavez says, “I would sacrifice anything to play volleyball for as long as I could,” and because of the work she puts in she says, “I feel like if I chose school then all of those efforts would have been for nothing.”

When managing her sports and school schedule, Chavez says, “I manage it by making sure I have everything written down on my schedule. So I use my Google Calendar a lot to make sure I put in any projects or any work that I might need to get done on time.”

In the future, Chavez sees sports as an important factor in college, keeping her motivated to stick with her sport and manage it. She says, “It’s a lot to handle, but I feel like it’s worth it because college is the goal here. So, with academics and sports, it continues on through my life, so I feel like it’s really important to manage it.”

School is long enough as it is, add sports to it and the time you spend in your own home is minimal. Tara Khazeaiadeh ‘25, a wrestler in regards to her schedule says, “I had school, and then work, and then I went home, changed, and then went to practice.” Most days she’d get home around 8:30 pm usually later, and with school starting at 8:30 am, that means the majority of her time is spent away from home, “it was a booked schedule. I rarely got time off.”

Noah Robles ‘26, also has a similar schedule to Khazeaiadeh only he does basketball rather than wrestling. When asked if basketball gets in the way of him doing as well as he’d like in school he says, “Yeah, definitely. I get home super tired sometimes. I just don’t do my work.” He does say he values school more but with all his energy spent after basketball, it’s often a struggle to stay on top of it.

How do they manage it all? Emmanuel Rodriguez ‘24, on Redwood’s baseball team says, “You just gotta manage your time. Also make sure you get something to eat, so you can get through all that homework.”