According to the NCAA, about half of all students participate in a high school sport, but a smaller amount participates in three. These student-athletes are involved in sports throughout the entire school year, which means they have to commit to hours of games and practices.

Junior Cal Weidemann plays football, basketball, and baseball. Weidmann recently tore his ACL during football leaving him on the sideline for the rest of the year. Injuries like these can leave players on the bench for a whole season or longer which can affect other sports they play.

“Injuries are tough because the extent of getting injured in one sport can end up affecting the other sports you play,” Weidemann said.  “It can [prevent you from] being able to prepare for another sports season, [it’s] just a big setback overall.”

Most athletic programs require their athletes to maintain a specific GPA to participate, which requires commitment and focus. For student-athletes, having time to work on assignments is difficult due to their schedules.

“As long as I’m paying attention in class the school work isn’t hard to do it’s more [of] making sure I [do] my homework instead of spending 30 minutes on my phone,” said junior David Goodwin who competes in football, diving, and baseball. “Usually, I try to push away all the social media, get my work done, and get seven or eight hours of sleep.”

For example, Goodwin focuses on football during the fall which makes it difficult when he wants to practice baseball.

An athlete’s technique or endurance in one sport can contribute to their performance in other sports,  as they include movements which work different muscles that are involved in other sports. For example, junior Eva Collins uses swimming to condition for cross country and track.

“I think that track builds up some of our leg muscles and that helps with swimming,” Collins said. “And with swimming, it keeps me from getting injured.”

The commitment and dedication that athletes who play three sports put in can be very rewarding for many reasons. Athletes, such as Goodwin, often find the competition and experiences exciting in sports.

“The most rewarding [thing] is the experiences because you get to meet new people first off, and I think that everybody has a story to tell,” Goodwin said. “Depending on how you use their story you can gain a little bit of knowledge from everybody and that’s a lot of fun. You always get to compete and you always get to strive to win and that’s something that I always have fun with.”