Long practices, late nights, and far away games. Although such characteristics of doing sports all year round may seem daunting at first, many students have found valuable benefits in their participation.

For tri-season athletes at the high school, doing three seasons of sports allows them to interact with many people and gain useful time management skills.

Senior Caroline Kaplan, who was on girls varsity cross country, girls varsity basketball, and girls varsity lacrosse for the 2017-2018 school year, chose to do a sport for three seasons to help with academics.

“I need something after school every day otherwise I can’t focus. Going right from school to homework, I wouldn’t be able to focus on it, and it helps me organize my time,” Kaplan said.

Junior Mia Liss, who was on girls junior varsity field hockey, girls junior varsity hockey, and girls varsity lacrosse for the 2017-2018 school year, said that she is a tri-season athlete because of the socialization and exercise it brings.

“Doing a sport gives me a reason to go out and be active and be with friends and definitely make friends with other ages,” Liss said.

Junior Arik Stolyarov, who does crew year-round, said that doing a sport for three seasons creates a network of support among athletes and coaches.

“If we ever need a place to talk to someone or we have a problem we know who to come to because we know we can trust each other,” Stolyarov said.

Stolyarov also said that doing a sport for three seasons instills valuable time management skills.

“It teaches you to use your time wisely. During the seasons which I didn’t do a sport, I would always procrastinate to the last minute, but when I do a sport I have very little time,” Stolyarov said.

Kaplan also said that doing three seasons of sports increased her focus.

“I think its made me focus more, because when I get home I don’t have as much time, so I try to actually do my work instead of putting it off watching TV,” Kaplan said.

For Stolyarov, doing Crew year-round also helps him sleep better.

“It’s also easier to fall asleep at night, cause I’ve used up so much energy after school. On the seasons when I didn’t have a sport I would just have a lot of energy in my body and stay up late and do homework,” Stolyarov said.

Despite some negative aspects, Kaplan believes that it’s worthwhile to do a sport for three seasons.

“Sometimes there’s clubs I want to join but they meet after school and I can’t do that any of the year. Sometimes it’s hard to get my [work] done, but the benefits outweigh the negatives,” Kaplan said.

Stolyarov believes that consistently participating in sports instills tenacity.

“I learned a lot of lessons of perseverance,” Stolyarov said. “If you stick to one thing or if you stick to many things but just keep doing it and continuing it, that in the long run will always help, and even in the short run.”