With school winding down, excitement for summer is clouding the motivation of students trying to stay on task with schoolwork, especially those participating in a spring sport. With finals drawing near, a decrease in motivation is detrimental.

According to the Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago, burnout is an overtraining syndrome that is shown by an athlete feeling fatigued. This can lead to mood changes, a decrease in motivation, frequent injuries and infections. Despite how burnt out spring sports athletes may feel, it is vital to put in extra work in order to maintain decent grades. Varsity soccer captain Marrin Harris ’23 explained that she has been suffering from senioritis (a decline of motivation in seniors facing the final weeks of high school) for a while. She said she hasn’t had much motivation to do schoolwork, but finds ways to manage stress while maintaining good grades.

“What I do is just take a break,” Harris said. “Put everything down and watch a movie or something.”

Harris is very thankful for her coach’s understanding of the burnout a student can face. She says that she can talk to her coaches for help, whether she needs to sit out a game or miss a practice due to stress.

“I can talk to my coaches and I can tell them ‘Oh I’m not feeling well today’ or ‘I don’t feel like playing today’ or ‘I’m not in a good mood,’” Harris said. “They totally understand it because they’ve gone through the same thing.”

Davis Linnell ’25 also said that teamwork is necessary for success. Linnell is on the varsity lacrosse team for South but also plays during the summer. Despite how mentally and physically burnt out he may feel, Linnell tries his best to never be a selfish teammate. He said that he owes it to his teammates to be at every practice, sacrificing some unnecessary things he may do for himself.

“You have to take out the activities where you’re doing something for yourself,” Linnell said. “You’re a student before you’re an athlete, but you’re not doing your schoolwork the whole day. You can make sacrifices in other areas.”

Linnell said he can always rely on his coaches for help—they can tell when something may be off and they can talk him through it. Despite how physically exhausted he may feel, Linnell says that playing a sport can actually benefit him with his studies.

“It gives me more structure and I don’t feel stuck at a desk when I’m doing a sport,” Linnell said. “It gets some of your energy out of you, you get to move around for an hour or two a day. It makes doing your work a little bit easier.“