Balancing Practice And School Work

Imagine the coach hands you the practice schedule and you stare back with that, “Um, how many days does this say?” look. When team training takes over the after-school hours, keeping up on homework and other activities isn’t always easy. Whether your child has baseball practice three evenings a week, volleyball every day for two hours, or hits the soccer field every other day finding a balance between training time and schoolwork is a must-do. How can you help your child to keep them playing and academic fields leveled?

Set Up a Schedule

Simply saying, “You’ll get your homework done when practice is over” isn’t enough. Saying one task goes after the other will lead your child to linger in the shower after they get home, surf the web, and will eventually run out of time before bedtime, then what? Having a set schedule provides structure and allows you to split the after-school hours as evenly as possible.

On practice days, plan schoolwork time around your child’s sports training. That said, you need to keep other activities and events in mind when you pick times. For example, if they have soccer from 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm. You don’t want to be eating dinner at 9:00 pm, so you need to set aside time for a meal between practice and homework. Instead of just saying the schedule out loud, write it down. Use colors for each activity, and try to stick to the picks!

Saying When

Even though skipping out on practice isn’t advisable, you can’t let your child’s grades suffer. If their sport is getting in the way of school, you have to make some concessions. This may mean dropping travel softball and only playing on the school or community team or limiting your child to one sport per season.

If your child is really starting to suffer academically, talk to the coach. Ask about taking a break until their grades rebound or see if it’s possible to trim down a training schedule.

Weekend Warrior

A weekend-only league may be the ticket to freeing up time for weekday school work. Instead of having to fit everything in Monday through Friday, a Saturday/Sunday sport allows your child to split sports and school time. They then have every after-school day to study and work on assignments. Having seven rather than five days a week available will allow you and your child to plan ahead and succeed in sports and academics.

Talk It Out

Is your child really overwhelmed, or do you just think that they are? Maybe they have it all under control, but your parental instinct would also be right.

Ask your child how they feel about their out-of-school time. Get specific and ask questions such as, “Are you worried about getting your homework done on time?” or, “How much time do you need to work on school assignments?” This line of conversation helps you to judge where your child’s time is out of balance and what you need to do to make them feel more comfortable or confident.

Finding a balance between school and sports is a challenge that you can meet. While it isn’t a snap, with some careful planning, the willingness to limit the number of activities that your child takes on, and some deep discussion you can keep their academic and athletic lives in check!