By: Erin Lowe <[email protected]>

“I try to run every week to get back in shape for the spring season but when the season starts we practice four days a week. I love it,” rugby player and junior Mary Anne Gabinet said.

For many students, the activity they participate in is very time consuming. Some of the students want to be in the activity and some are forced to be in it. Others are not forced to stay in an activity but feel obligated for a certain reason.

Swim team member and junior Jillian Bonanne said, “I’m in swim club and on the high school swim team. I don’t really feel obligated to be in it since I enjoy and my coach, parents and other friends who are on the team influence me to stay in it.”

One of the obligations for some students is that their parents force them to join and stay in certain activities.

Other students have parents that have paid so much that they wouldn’t quit because all that money would have been a waste.

“I’m also in orchestra; I don’t really enjoy it but it’s a great leadership experience. I don’t feel obligated to be in rugby because I actually enjoy it. I feel obligated to orchestra because my parents have spent so much money on it and I have been in it since the 6th grade, also, if I quit there goes any chance of a scholarship,”Gabinet said.

These students lose a lot of their free time to the activity they are in and have to deal with balancing homework and their activity. Sometimes doing homework is forgotten or put off because they are so tired from all of the hard work they have done with their activity.

Although some students balance homework and the activity quite well, including the swim team.

“I think the best way to balance school and swimming is to use your time wisely. When you have an extra 15 minutes, study, get ahead on the weekends, use your SRT time and minimize time on the internet, playing video games and watching TV. I do think the time spent affects their grades in a very positive way. The boys and girls swim team had one of the highest athletic team GPA’s a year ago. Swimming teaches time management skills and discipline,” swim club coach Chris Plumb said.

“I spend about 24 hours a week swimming; there is practice everyday after school from 3:20 to 6:00. It affects my grades sometimes because there are times when I am just so tired I don’t get my homework. I don’t ever consider quitting because it’s not a sport that you can just quit. Overall, I like it,” Bonanne said.

According to Plumb, students spend 18 to 20 hours swimming each week. “I don’t think that anybody can force someone to join a sport they don’t want to do. I believe that swimmers are there because they want to be there and it is their choice and no one else’s.”

Most students know that the longer they are in an activity they usually get better at the activity. This can lead to a student getting a scholarship which is why many students don’t quit. Sometimes getting a scholarship is the only reason they stay in the activity.

On the other hand Gabinet said she only spends time in class on orchestra.

She said,“of course it affects my outside life by the time I spend, that’s why I spend time on it outside of school. Rugby affects my time also, but this is rugby, you don’t find people like this anywhere else. If I’m not at practice then I’m hanging out with rugby girls.”

Besides obligations to stay in an activity there is the big reason of actually liking it.

Although students may like certain activities, there are still other things that they will miss out on, which shows dedication to doing something that they love.

“I’m in swimming because I like all of the people in it and I like it, but there’s always that party that I can’t go to or a time when I can’t hang out with my friends. I’ve been in swim club since I was 8 and on the high school team since freshman year so I couldn’t just quit,” Bonanne said.

“I started playing rugby last year when I was a sophomore and I loved it. I really started because my brother played during his senior year and I played with him until I joined the team when I transferred to Carmel last year,” Gabinet said.

Eventually the hard work pays off, according to Bonanne. She said, “Swimming is hard work and it takes up a lot of time, but in the end it’s worth it when you reach your goal.”