Fall sports are under full swing, as the school year starts, and more people get vaccinated against Covid-19, the fall sports season is officially underway. Athletes around the school are having to put up with the stresses of school, and their sport.
Many students are at school for over 8 hours a day with very few breaks in between. “I think getting up and not having much time keeps me busy, and feels good, but I feel like I have more free time to do things, but I still don’t have a lot,” says Richard Ereno, a junior football player at Washington High School who actually enjoys his long schedule. When asked to describe his long day, Richard provided the following: “I wake up at 7:10, get ready for school, and eat. I get to school early and do homework in my car that I didn’t finish the night before. Then I go to school and practice from 3:30-6:30 and get home at 7. When I get home I eat, and do my routine for success, I shower, I do homework, and I’m in bed by 10:30, and sleep at 11.”
Richard’s schedule has him at the school for around 11 hours, and that’s not including game days where he might be at school for an extra 3 hours. High school students have reported having to do 2 hours of homework a day, and sometimes even 3 hours. Clearly, high school athletes don’t have much free time to do anything besides focusing on school, and their sport.
The long day isn’t just for football players. Zoe Greer, varsity captain for the Girls Volleyball team, and a senior at Washington High School, had a similar schedule to Richard: “I wake up at 7, eat breakfast, go to school 8:30-3:30, then I change into my volleyball stuff, to practice from 4-6, but if we have a game I’ll usually be there from 5-9, then I go home, eat dinner, and shower, do my homework for that day, and go to sleep around 12.” Zoe’s schedule is backed up by fellow volleyball teammate Kayla Cang said “I wake up at 7, get ready to go to school at 8, go to school, and practice from 4-7, and do homework, and on game days I’m at school from 5-9, and I go to sleep at 12.”
Some athletes like Richard find the schedule to be good for their mental health because they can stick to a schedule, and always be active. Other athletes might find the schedule to be overbearing due to the lack of free time. One thing is for sure: the student athletes at Washington High School are all very busy.
Ryan Adams is a junior at Washington High School. He grew up across the Bay Area spending time in San Pablo, Castro Valley, and Fremont, but he’s spent most of his childhood in Fremont. This will be his first year at the Hatchet newspaper. Journalistically he’s interested in covering sports, and he spends his free time playing football for the Washington High School football team, playing video games, and watching television just to name a few. His future plans are to maybe go to Ohlone College after high school, and figure out a plan from there.