Balancing the Athletic Schedules of Two Sports

Many athletes in school participate in more than one sport. For example, some high school cheerleaders are also on the tennis team; some football players also play baseball. As athletes know, a team’s schedule demands enough time as it is, but now you have to find time for another team’s schedule as well. In order to attend practice, games, and competitions for both, you’ve got to know how to juggle two different team schedules.

The first thing you have to do is look at the schedule and decide if you’ll have time for both. What two sports are you joining? Are they year-round or only active during one season? From there, you can plan ahead and figure out what season will be your busiest. If you play a fall and spring sport, your schedule should be fine. However, if it’s two sports during the same season, you may have trouble balancing both schedules.

If you know ahead of time which season will require more time for your sports, consider cutting back on other commitments. Are you involved in a club? Do you help plan prom or another big school event? If so, you may need to take a step back from these duties. If you try to do everything, you’ll spread yourself thin and your grades and/or athletic abilities will suffer.

Make sure you notify both coaches of your commitments. They should know as soon as possible that you’re on two teams. This will help them plan things more in advance so they can notify you ahead of time of any important dates. Also, you’ll need to talk with the coaches on how many practices you’re allowed to miss. You may discover that one coach isn’t okay with you being on another team or that you cannot miss any practices in order to suit up in your team uniform and participate in games or competitions.

When the season for two sports begins, keep a day planner with you at all times. Write down all practice sessions, games, competitions, and additional required activities (like fundraising) for the entire season. This will help you see right away if there are any conflicts, like a game for one sport and a practice session for another. If you do see a conflict, immediately notify your coaches. If there is a game on the same day as a practice session for the other sport, see if you can miss that practice. Or, see if you can attend the first or second half of the game and the first or second half of practice. In the end, you may have to decide which one is more important.

Understand that in order to give 100% to both sports, you may have to cut back on social activities with friends and family. Your weekends might be reserved for practice or catching up on homework and studying. However, these are the sacrifices of having a busy athletic schedule.