As school ends, the blaring bell knocks students out of their academic lulls. Some begin the endless trek down to the locker rooms for whatever sport season is running, begrudgingly getting ready for a long practice. 

For many athletes, this repeats for only a few months out of the year. However, for multi-sport athletes like junior Chelsea Irvine, it repeats for a majority of the year. For Irvine, doing sports like soccer, basketball, and golf is a way for her to learn how to manage her time.

Irvine and other multi-sport athletes go from school, to practice, to sometimes another practice. Then, they can come home to take care of schoolwork and other responsibilities. With the way all of Irvine’s sports line up, the days can vary in schedule.

“I’ve spent many days running off four Red Bulls and four hours of sleep,” Irvine said. “But, I’ve also spent many days napping before practice and going to sleep again once I get home.”

It’s not only the day-to-day schedules that are tough. Multi-sport athletes have to maintain balance between their sports, even in their off seasons. Things like choosing which competitions to take part in and which practices to go to become difficult. 

“Playing on multiple teams causes some conflicts throughout the year. During the summer I have to choose which tournaments and practices I give up in order to goto another,” Irvine said. “My situation of being a tri-sport athlete means it’s all about compromise.”

In spite of that, being a multi-sport athlete is not all hardships. A positive is that sports that are in their off-season get supported in other ways. For Irvine, her soccer season supports her basketball season, even when she isn’t currently practicing for one of the sports.

“I can find myself getting better at soccer even if I hadn’t played for a while because of basketball, only because basketball helps with footwork and vice versa,” Irvine said.

Alongside that, doing multiple sports lets athletes build more connections. Simple things like going to events for a variety of sports lets athletes meet more people and make more memories. 

“I like being busy. I love going from game to game, tournament to tournament, it’s fun. I love playing sports because it gives me an activity to do that I enjoy doing,” Irvine said.