Have you ever wondered what it feels like to live in the academic and athletic world?  Striking the complex balance of being a “student-athlete” can be challenging for teenagers in our school community.   We need to be ready to balance the high academic expectations and challenges we face, especially as busy teenagers. During high school especially, it is very easy for us to feel overwhelmed. One high expectation can have when being a student-athlete is that you can get accepted faster in a college; if you keep your grade above 90’s and if you are really good at your sport colleges will likely recruit you. One challenge of being a student athlete and an academic student is that many people will demand a lot from you.  Student-athletes find that people want more than what you can give at times and it can get to the point where you’ll face real frustration. To learn more about the challenges and benefits of being a student-athlete, I spoke with a few people close to this issue.  

First I spoke with Coach Rafa who seemed pretty excited for the boy’s game which pitted George Washington Trojans against the A. Philip Randolph Campus Cougars. Coach Rafa is a former math  teacher from the High School for Law and Public Service, which is located on the fourth floor of the building.   He has worked so hard to train these boys since the moment he met them and he  has nothing but hope and confidence for his team.“Hey yeah, I am pretty excited for today’s game and kind of nervous at the same time but, I have lots of hope for these boys, because I know they can get a little frustrated but that is the whole point of the game.  We have to relieve our stress and just give our full energy and concentration and push hard together as a team in order to win today. As their coach I feel really hopeful because even though the season is about to end  they didn’t just learn a lesson this season. I also got some advice from them slowly over time on how to train with them and help them out a little more but, you know these boy are smart and I am just blessed to be a part of this amazing soccer boys team.”  Wow, wow so amazing Coach Rafa thank you. Yeah, I have hope for these boys too. They have been through a lot and I definitely agree with you. You have been an excellent coach, and taught me many things since the first day I practiced with you boys and helped me improve in so many ways and I am thankful for that too.  I contribute to what Coach Rafa is saying because managing being an athlete is very hard because you constantly have to practice to be good and you constantly have to try and talk to your teachers about the assignment you are doing amazing on or what assignments you have fallen behind in. There are many different characteristics on being a student/athlete many know how to manage it many can’t and is okay, because for me at first it was not easy but with all hopes that I have gotten from my soccer team and the boy’s soccer team they have shown me that if your hungry for what you have always desire you will conquer it. 

Many students from my school The College Academy have all gained different experiences on being a perfect student or a perfect athlete. But across the campus, George Washington players don’t believe in being “perfect” because they all know everyone is trying their best to make their parents proud. Two of the students that came forward from the “George Washington ” campus decided to come up and tell us their story. One of their names is Meheza and the other student’s name is Leo.  Leo will explain to us more deeply about his struggles with being a student athlete and an academic student, while Meheza will teach us and explain the beneficials parts of it.  

         

                     First let’s experience Leo’s story (that he agreed it was okay for me to share) “ I am just an ordinary sophomore. Life did not really revolve around me much because my whole entire life I felt lost, but the only thing making it better was soccer. Days and nights I tried my hardest to develop a schedule for my academics and family time, as well as work and as I experienced it never worked. I was always a follower every time my friends did something non-exciting. I followed and this killed my grades terribly. In the middle of October 8, I was at a life point where I was lost and soccer was my only hope. During these moments I had to choose between my soccer and my future, and I chose my future because deep down I knew if I kept letting the universe take over me and my academics it would make me realize that I won’t ever achieve playing soccer for my dream college which is Duke. 

 

 Towards the middle of the school year I started to get anxious about life which wasn’t really much the same as it was before soccer.  Athletics was becoming more of a “habit” than a hobby and to me it was killing me inside, and my grades were still good but focusing more on my academics overtime made me lose my skills for something I always loved.” Leo, during this interview, was very happy to share some of his life’s low expectations of being a student athlete because he wanted to be a witness that “ life won’t always be for you, because you have to set boundaries in order to develop a sufficient curriculum for the things you love.” ” Leo’s story is very misleading to me because he loves soccer but yet again does not want to give his hope away immediately so now that we’re into the actual beginning of high school he is actually doing much better than before. Leo stopped being friends with people who always got him in trouble, but developed a roller coaster full of anxiety where his grades were good but his love for soccer was slowly fading away and his communication with family and friends started falling apart. 

 

Meheza is a very well known kid around the “George Washington ” campus.  He is known for his very high athletic skills and makes very wise and smart decisions to keep his grades intact and his lifestyle well suited. Meheza is different then Leo because he actually does not see life as a competition, even though his friends call him the “cheetah” because of his tense ways of always blending in with positive energy and good friends that can help him actually conquer his goals.  But Meheza sees it as “ Never fear life just because challenges are to be thrown”. Meheza told me a bit about his student/athlete story. 

 

“ My story started when I was younger. I grew up in a very religious family so they took school very seriously. At the time I was in a soccer varsity league here at the “George Washington” campus just as Leo is.  My dad and mom were always there by my side when I needed support but I just never saw life to heart. Many people told me that they were proud of me for keeping up my grades and doing as many sports as possible. I was always well surrounded in high school every time someone passed by they all said “Heyyy Cheetah ” and I always looked, waved and smiled. But, I soon started to realize that those people won’t help me conquer my goals. I always tried going to the gym after school, practicing some soccer skills, doing homework and getting sufficient rest. These were my goals but my family were against this ideal mindset that I had because of sports and more, but they knew that soccer meant the whole world to me and even won trophies as a little kid.   But they were always scared that I would change and turn out to be their son they never imagined I would be.

My academics have been very hard lately because over this school year their had many many test preps I had to focus on and I am not an amazing test taker, but easy to catch up since I have days where I can study for each of my classes. I try to get involved in my family’s adult life but they just never seem to understand how soccer makes me happy and I can actually be a professional soccer player.”  To me I sense Meheza to be a very determined and organized student. He really show’s how to represent the student body of an athletic and academic student, but he also shows appreciation for all the many achievements he has received throughout his lifetime. Meheza, is currently a junior in high school right now and has many opportunities he got based on his wise skills and balance and structure throughout high school. When doing this interview, he told me “I want people to see my story.  I want them to realize that anything is possible, be an eye opener and always be a “CHEETAH” work hard, win certificates, practice, keep grades up, have fun and enjoy high school as much as possible.”

In conclusion, life can educate you in many different ways but it can’t decide which paths you will take, due to the fact that you sometimes have to control your mind rather than your mind controlling you. This relates in today’s society as a life lesson because many kids always focus on one thing rather than the other and expect to get something beneficial out of both angles.  But as we saw Meheza and Leo both live in a cycle of life, one can be a roller coaster and the other can be an hourglass of timing every second of your success. In today’s generation it is very difficult to choose between what you love and what means the most to you because most of the time people will always say “follow your dreams” when in reality it is “ Never look back.” This meaning “never looked back” has always had a deeper meaning that people preserve it as because they always thought life will always be butterflies and sunflowers but it is mostly about what steps you will make to get to the level you want to be in. On the other hand, life and success are taken in different ways because life is just one whole thing people experience in their everyday life time, while success is something you can follow or lead from your past mistakes or problems.