The air is crisp and warm as cross-country practice ends at around five p.m. Runners begin to gather their belongings, looking forward to a refreshing shower and time to decompress after a long day. However, some of these people will not be able to do either of those activities, as they are off to another sports practice. 

While some people find it impossible to balance sports, academics and healthy habits, others find success in their busy schedule. Mio Hitzig, who participates in cross-country and ultimate frisbee simultaneously, offers her viewpoint.

“Use your Sundays. I use my Sundays as time to study and do homework, and prepare for the week ahead,” she said.

Like anything in life, doing multiple sports comes with an opportunity cost. 

“I wish I had more time to do Japanese, because I’ve been pushing that aside. I haven’t really been going to Japanese school because of ultimate and cross country, and I’ll get home from school and prioritize school work rather than doing my Japanese homework,” Hitzig says.

Hitzig gives an example of how there is  always going to be something to miss out on. This is especially true as the culture at the school amplifies strong academic performance. The graduation rate at the school is 89% according to U.S. News. This means studies will continue to be the top priority for many multisport athletes.

Another sophomore at the school who  gave their perspective was Raghav Tandon, who plays tennis and does cross-country as well. He was able to offer some insight into preventing burn out, and he made an important point about how to relieve performance stress.

“I would say it’s definitely not possible to put 100% into two sports,” Tandon said.

Tandon also suggests the idea of taking an a.m. class. These classes occur every morning at 7:30 a.m., and include a flex period during the day, which can provide  extra work time. 

“I take an a.m. class, which is nice because I get more study time freed up, so I’m less stressed at night,” Tandon said. 

Lastly, Maddie Caramanica is a sophomore who does cross country and soccer. Caramanica makes a similar point to Tandon about sport prioritization. 

“I prioritize soccer because I’ve been playing it for way longer,” she said. “It’s tough to do hard cross country practices and have soccer the same night, because I don’t perform as well.”

Performance worries can prove to be another difficulty of doing multiple sports, as it is challenging to have to perform well in both consistently.

“The advice I would give is to listen to your body and don’t push too hard because that’s how injuries happen. If you keep pushing your body past its limits, it will catch up to you,” Caramanica said. 

As injuries are so common in sports, maximizing healthy habits can be a key part of living a balanced lifestyle. The tips discussed in this article can also help with injury prevention. According to NIH, lowering stress on the mind can also help relax the body. 

Busy schedules can seem daunting, but there are many ways to handle them and do so with grace and success. 

“Using your time wisely and staying on track with each assignment is key,” said Tandon