From homework to projects to studying for quizzes, high school students have a lot to get done. Add in a sport that practices every day, and the workload gets a lot larger. As the Spring season begins to unfold, Skyline student-athletes work tirelessly to succeed both in the classroom and on the field.

“It’s definitely kind of tough to balance it all,” says Pete Roebuck (‘24), one of three captains of the Skyline Boys’ Varsity Golf Team. “I try to set aside probably two hours before bed every night to do my homework. Sometimes you have to sacrifice sleep but you’ve gotta get the job done.”

Being faced with less free time leads students to find new strategies to get everything done on time. “Personally, I allow myself to have a little break when I get home after practice just so I’m not constantly going,” says Skyline Girls’ Water Polo player Sydney Sawyer (‘24). “Then I get into homework and do the Pomodoro method where you’re 20 minutes on, five minutes off.”

While students have many different strategies to keep on task, these often vary from grade to grade, along with the amount of homework they have outside of school.

As a freshman playing soccer for Skyline, Katie Yuan (‘27) doesn’t tend to have issues balancing school and sports. “I don’t think it’s that difficult,” Yuan says. “… Since practice is later, I’ll go home, get all my homework done and then go to practice.”

However, academics tend to get a lot harder after freshman year. Lillian Cui (‘25), a current junior and JV Girls’ Tennis player, explains how much harder it is to focus both academically and on the court. “Because this is a spring sport and it’s around the time of AP exams … I’m kind of pressed for time and finding time to study,” Cui says. “It definitely takes a lot of self discipline; I definitely have to push myself.”

Many returning high school students are also faced with more intense classes, leading to less down time. “I definitely have a lot more [homework] than last year just because I’m taking a lot more AP classes,” says Jude Carlson (‘26), member of the Varsity Boys’ Lacrosse team. “It’s hard when you have away games and you’re on a bus. I try to take advantage of those days with practice to get it done after school or take time on the weekends to try to get ahead.”

Even though finding a balance between student and athlete is hard, none of the players would trade it for the world. “I’ve been playing my whole life,” says Roebuck. “I’ve built a lot of connections throughout the years and have a lot of friends on the team and throughout the game, and my whole family plays, so … it’s definitely hard balancing it all, but it’s all worth it.”