Over 60 percent of upper school students enjoy participating in one of the 15 sports offered. Some athletes choose to join two. However, a small handful of students partake in all three sports seasons.

Alycia Cary

Freshman Alycia Cary runs cross country in the fall, plays soccer in the winter and competes in track and field in the spring. Previously in middle school, she competed in cross country and soccer all three years and track and field in eighth grade.

“Sports help me relieve stress, and I feel like there’s a lot of overlap between the three sports,” Alycia said. “Cross country gets me in condition for soccer and soccer helps me with sprints, so that gets me in condition for track. They’re also all running sports, which I like.”

As a freshman, Alycia found it difficult at first to adjust to the time commitment of upper school sports but was able to easily adapt after a couple of weeks.

“It was a little hard in the beginning of the year getting use to everyday practices until six, but once you get into a schedule, it’s pretty easy to manage,” she said. “I just try to keep a schedule and try not to procrastinate.”

Alycia particularly looks forward to next year’s new block schedule when managing her time.

“Especially with the new schedule, I really like it cause it’s a lot easier to handle all my schoolwork,” Alycia said.

After learning from this year, Alycia offers some advice for future students interested in playing more sports.

“Especially in your freshman year, I think you should try to explore a lot of the possibilities the school offers, and then narrow it down as you get to your upperclassmen years,” she said.

Alycia’s other extracurricular activities include debate, cello and Research Club. She anticipates competing in all three sports throughout her entire high school years.

Anthony Contreras

A current sophomore, Anthony Contreras participates in football, wrestling and track and field for the fall, winter and spring seasons, respectively. Among his many football commendations, he was named the North Coast Section and Redwood Empire All-League Co-Defensive MVP. By placing third in his weight group for this year’s Santa Clara Valley Athletic League tournament, he qualifies for Central Coast Section playoffs, and he received West Bay Athletic League Honorable Mention for track and field last year.

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Kshithija Mulam

Sophomore Anthony Contreras runs with the football during the homecoming game in the fall.

“I do sports since I like staying in shape,” said Anthony. “Also, I make lots of new friends while playing sports, and I just like hanging out with them.”

Anthony finds that time management is one of the main challenges when juggling sports and school.

“I have no time to do anything else,” said Anthony. “My weekends and afterschools, I really have no time to do homework or study or hangout with friends or do the things I really want to.”

He proceeded to give insight on how he is able to handle everything.

“Usually by finding one specific day where I can do all of it, usually Sundays, and it works fine,” said Anthony.

As for future athletes, Anthony offers some knowledge from his experiences.

“Whatever you do, do not give up,” he said. “It sounds really cliché but just strive through, push. Mind over matter.”

This piece was originally published in the pages of The Winged Post on March 3, 2016.