As the first quarter ends and winter sports start, the longest season for athletes begins to take their toll on the students who choose to play a sport during winter. The struggle of juggling class and practices affect these athletes yearly.

“It’s really about staying balanced,” Chris Booth said. “Making sure when you do have breaks to hangout with your friends, but also make sure you are getting stuff done.”

Just a few weeks ago, the boys varsity hockey team finished their second week of games. On the athletic calendar hockey has stood out to have the longest season of all winter sports- starting in early November and coming to an end around mid- March.

“It all comes down to time management,” Jake Spitz ‘22 said. “I try my best to do my homework before practice or during my free time in class.”

The other winter sports include basketball, competitive cheer, figure skating, gymnastics and wrestling. Another very demanding sport is basketball, with practices over winter break along with games and practices every night of the week, especially with varsity running practices till 9:30 or even 10, according to Victoria Fredrickson ’22.

“I had a two hour practice every night for basketball, when I got a lot of homework, it felt like I had to cram a lot in for the afternoon,” Fredrickson said. “If I didn’t do it before practice, then I would be up really late because practice ended pretty late as well.”

Booth said when it comes to winter sports and school, it is crucial for athletes to manage time so not only they get a proper amount of sleep, especially around midterms, so they don’t fall behind in class. This critical to their success because especially when midterms come around panic can set it.

“Don’t wait until the last second, then you start cramming (in your studying),” he said. “Studies say when you cram then you’re not sleeping.”

Ultimately, the work that goes into being a winter athlete is no different than your normal athlete except having to manage with a longer season. It is important to manage time and get sleep to keep yourself on track, according to Booth.

“Sports are always a good idea if they make you happy. They are already a lot of work, it just has different impacts,” Fredrickson said. “[Especially for] the students who might have a lot of homework and not be able to balance it well, or someone with a little bit of homework who can balance it, or anything in between.”