From studying and working in the classroom to playing and practicing on the field, student athletes constantly have to balance their workload.
With student athletes going from early morning practices to late night study sessions and everything in between, their commitment often leads to making personal sacrifices in order to excel in both school and sports.
There is an understanding that they are held to a higher standard than most students because when they step on that field or court and put on that uniform, they are representing something much greater than themselves; they are representing their school.
More is expected of them in the classroom as well, from staying on top of assignments to performing well on tests, all while giving their best on the field.
Amin Eltahir, who is on the men’s soccer team at Jones, is learning to balance being a student athlete while being an exchange student from Germany. At 20 years old, Eltahir hopes to one day become a professional soccer player, but for now, he spends his days attending class, practicing and hanging out with friends.
“I wake up at around 7:20 a.m., stretch for 10 minutes, get ready, and go to the cafeteria for breakfast before my 8:15 a.m. class. I’m in class until about 10:50 a.m., then after that I head to lunch with my friends,” Eltahir said. “I usually go to the trainers for treatment before our 2 p.m. practice, which lasts about two hours, then go to dinner around 6 p.m., and I sometimes hang out with friends before going to bed around 10:30 p.m. or 11 p.m.”
The biggest sacrifice for Eltahir did not come from the soccer field, but it came from leaving his home to pursue his dream of one day becoming a professional soccer player, and that journey begins at Jones. Leaving Germany for the United States to play soccer gives Eltahir more of a challenge than other student athletes have.
“Since I’m from Germany, another sacrifice was leaving my family and friends behind to chase my dream of playing soccer in America,” he said.
With most student athletes, the reward of getting a chance to chase their dream outweighs the sacrifices they make along the way. Even though Eltahir decided to leave everything he knew behind to come to Jones, he believes this move gets him one step closer to his dream of playing soccer professionally.
“Living in America is like being in a movie for me. Playing soccer here and studying at Jones feels like a dream,” Eltahir said.
Hailey Duque, who is a volleyball player at Jones, said that her day-to-day life changes depending on if she has a game, or just practice, or if it is the day after a game. Between having to go to early classes, long workouts and tedious study hall requirements, her schedule leaves her with very little downtime.
“The days that are usually the hardest are the days after an away game, especially if it is far away, and we aren’t getting back until early in the morning,” she said. “The next day, you still have to wake up for class, so it catches up with you fast.”
At the beginning of last year, Duque’s father was diagnosed with brain cancer. She had to learn to sacrifice some of her time in school and practice to spend as much time with her dad as she could.
“You never know what people have going on at home, and that applies to everyone,” she said.
Duque would spend any free weekends at the hospital until her father went home and started chemo and radiation. She said that having to make difficult decisions is hard, but she had good teammates who supported her.
“I think not being able to be there for him as much as I wanted affected me in more ways than I care to admit,” Duque said. “The team really becomes your second family, and I could not be more thankful for the group of girls we have this year. I love them like they are my sisters.”
Despite dealing with so many challenges, she always found ways to stay prepared for the game and organized for school.
“Having a physical planner has really saved me. It makes studying a lot easier when you have friends from that class who can study with you,” she said.
Her coach, John Dussouy, has noticed her dedication on and off the court.
“Hailey’s work ethic is attributed to her attention to detail,” Dussouy said. “She understands that for all athletes, they are defined more by what they do outside of volleyball, and this is usually done by the choices that they make. Since she has been here at Jones, she has made some great choices as a student.”
Jones football player, Cannon Crowder, tries to work his schedule around his classes because being a student first is important to him. In his opinion, the best way to work to balance class and practice is to start the day off strong by staying focused on what he wants to achieve.
“Once I get back to the dorm after breakfast, I shower and get myself ready for class, then I read my Bible and pray because if I don’t do it in the morning, it is hard to find time throughout the day,” Crowder said.
With football being so demanding, Crowder said that the hardest sacrifice he makes as a student athlete is not being able to hang out with friends or family due to a lack of downtime. Outside of class, practices and meetings for football consume the rest of his day.
“The biggest sacrifice I’ve had to make is my relationships. I am so busy myself that it is hard for me to find time to maintain them. Most of my free time goes to homework and going to church or similar events. I don’t talk to or see my family and friends much,” he said.
Like many other student athletes, Crowder tries to find ways to help himself stay disciplined in balancing academics and athletics. For him, it starts with keeping his distractions in check and not letting them overwhelm him.
“What I have found to help is to limit my time on my phone. Being on my phone causes me to waste time and leads to laziness. So, I set restrictions to manage that. I also plan my day the day before and write out what I must do from the time I wake up until the last thing for the night,” Crowder said.
Having to balance schoolwork and sports is never easy, and for student athletes like Amin Eltahir, Hailey Duque and Cannon Crowder, these obstacles come in different forms.
Whether it is being far from home or having to deal with personal things outside of the sport, or even having to sacrifice time with loved ones, these student athletes, driven by their passion for their sport and their commitment to their education, have found ways to push forward.
In many ways, student athletes really do live a double life, one consumed by homework, classes and tests, and the other overrun by meetings, practices and games. Both roles of being a student and an athlete require discipline, determination and sacrifice, but that also gives them experiences that they will use off the field for a lifetime.
by Jackson Vella
Amin Eltahir and Hailey Duque photos by Landon Joy
