For the people that played sports........

<p>How did you guys/girls juggle sports and Ap classes at the same time?
I really wanna play football junior year, but im worried that i wouldnt be able to handle that and 3 or 4 Ap classes without my grades slipping.</p>

<p>3 sports here. Since wrestling and track have no home matches, and tennis has relatively few home matches, I am on a school bus constantly. That’s really my heaven for catching up on schoolwork - on the bus. </p>

<p>The thing about my sports is that they are all individual sports. This means that even though I’m technically at a meet for up to 6 to 10 hours, really I’m only playing for a fraction of the time - a lot of the time I am simply watching my teammates play. I use this downtime a lot to catch up on schoolwork as well. However, since football is a much more active sport, you don’t really have that opportunity.</p>

<p>I wish I had the ability to do homework on the bus… I can;t concentrate and its never been productive for me. Most of the time spent on the bus is spent either listening to music, sitting there, or chatting around random stuff.</p>

<p>Just remember - grades > a sport. If you can balance it, more power to you. Sports for 2-3 hours a day takes a lot out of you and the day just seems to fly by (especially on meets/games).</p>

<p>It is hard juggling sports and school but you have to look at yourself and think, can i really handle both? If you reallly wanna play and your willing to go the extra mile to do homework as well then go for it! Nobody is stopping you so if you want to do it and you can handle it then do it and once you start and you notice you can’t do it then quit because school is more important then football.</p>

<p>My high school kids seem to manage their time more efficiently when they are involved in a sport. Also, my d says that not all APs are equally difficult. She knows plenty of juniors and seniors who play varsity sports while juggling several AP classes. The key is to hit the books once you get home from your games or matches. Think of your sport as “your downtime”.</p>

<p>I don’t know how, but I managed AP Environmental science and AP English with Honors Biology and Honors Astronomy first semester when playing varsity soccer. Got an A in all of them.</p>

<p>Class of 2012’s Sal (although our school is not really competitive) is one of the best football players in California. I played golf, A few weeks of basketball (before I was booted off in favor of some Juniors who decided to show up to our JV team), and I played intramural volleyball for three weeks. I plan on playing football, basketball, golf, and volleyball next (sophomore) year, and I still am ranked number 1. So anything’s possible.</p>

<p>It’s all about staying focused and organized. Planning and spending your time “wisely” (as cliche as it is) will keep your grades up. I played soccer, two and a half hours after school everyday, but when I got home, I started homework. kept all a’s in 5 aps. </p>

<p>mainly set aside 2-3 hours each night for homework, and you have free time from 3-7 (dinner), which is usually sports + whatever.</p>

<p>Ran Cross-Country and Track in the Fall and Spring.</p>

<p>Practice ended at around 5:30. Eat dinner at 5:45. Do homework from 6:30 - 9:30.</p>

<p>Try to go to bed at around 11:30.</p>

<p>Honestly when I did volleyball I didn’t do any homework really for my three ap classes. Didn’t hurt me too much, though.</p>

<p>I play baseball and tennis (seasons are diff. here) and it’s around 6-8 hours of practice per week, not including games. That means i get home at around 6:30. However, when I get home, i’m extremely tired, take half an hour to chill on the computer, then eat dinner at 7, shower after that, and begin my work at 8-8:30. I get to go to sleep by 11-11:30 every night, except when we have projects due, then it’s at 1-2 AM.</p>

<p>I do gymnastics 5 times a week, but it’s super early, so doesn’t really affect my schedule.</p>

<p>@HarveyMuddLove: Which AP classes did you take? Also, what time does you school end(time)?</p>

<p>I took AP chem, calc ab (self-study bc lol), physics b, and english language and composition</p>

<p>my school does a/b block days, and school ends 2:35, practice 3:15-almost 6.</p>

<p>Cross Country, Soccer (Club and High School), and Track</p>

<p>Lots of late nights, lots of early mornings, lots of bus work, but totally worth it. Sure, my GPA could be a smidge higher, but I wouldn’t change any of it. Writing everything down helps a TON. Also, find a sport/school study schedule that works for you and STICK TO IT!!! Stay on top of long term assignments… that reduces stress.</p>

<p>I play golf and am involved in ten clubs. In those clubs, I am the president of two, editor in chief of the newspaper, and hold leadership positions in four of the others. I’m also heavily involved with my community. I always get home very late each night. I took two APs this year, but six honors classes that are all very demanding. I experienced burn out after one month of school, which was lovely. I’d advise sticking to a schedule. Study when you can, make sure you do your homework, but make sure you get enough sleep. Seriously, sleep. It’s not okay to take a five hour nap when you get home and stay up the rest of the night doing homework once you wake up. You need to take care of yourself, or else it ruins your health. As much as you want to get the A, make sure your health is in line and okay first.</p>

<p>its just how you manage time… theres a stanford recruit at our school who got a 4.1 even at a demanding preparatory school</p>

<p>I personally did better in school during my golf season. I was forced to manage my time more, and was more efficient about getting homework done promptly. Sometimes I would study in the van rides, but mostly its easy to manage. There were a few weeks where it was rough- I would be gone from 12:00-9:00 for a couple of days a week in far away matches- but I managed to keep up a 4.3.</p>

<p>When you are in a sport, or otherwise kept active, you find yourself taking advantage of any opportunity to do homework and study. For me, that meant less facebook, TV, and other things I used to procrastinate during off season.</p>

<p>I stopped playing when I started taking those AP classes.</p>