Kalani High School student-athletes experience pressure trying to excel at both school and their sport, with so much to focus on and such little time.
Coming into the school year, student-athletes make the important decision about what they should focus on: school, sports or both. If a student-athlete makes a team but doesn’t meet certain academic requirements, they are placed on Academic Review Status (ARS) and cannot play their sport. Every new school year, Kalani students struggle to find a balance between academics, sports, jobs, volunteer work, clubs, and personal life.
According to a Panorama survey given to Kalani students in September this year, 73% say they are successful at managing their times, up 5% from last year’s results.
“During school season, you practice for about two hours a day every day, and it’s kind of hard because you get tired and then you still have to do homework,” Sarah Miyazawa (12) says.
High school sports can be a great experience. Students say that playing on a school athletic team lets them meet new people, create memories, and be a part of something bigger than themselves.
“I found a way to find a change in myself from freshman year to now and found many new friends and supporters along the way,” Tomo Hiroyamada (12) states.
Despite the stress, baseball player Vaughn Simon (11) says “the grind” makes him happy.
“I would never wish for a different life,” Simon says. “I think the life I’m living right now is picture perfect, and it’s a life that I enjoy.”
Some student-athletes are working toward playing their sport in college and getting into their “dream” school—or any school, for that matter—so it is essential to focus on both academics and athletics equally.
But some student-athletes say that finding a balance is even harder in college.
“All semester, I had heavily neglected one of my classes, and it progressively got worse,” Andrea Rivera, now a student in college, said in a March 2024 op-ed in her college’s student newspaper, The Knight Times. “I nearly failed that class was it not for pulling away from sports after ECC’s to focus on my schoolwork.”
Is being a student-athlete worth it, even if you’re not going to the next level? For many Kalani athletes, the answer is yes.
“I would love to play college baseball as well as professional baseball one day. I don’t care what division — D1, D2, D3, junior college — just whoever wants me. I’ll take that spot on the team,” Simon (11) says.
