Every day, student-athletes go home to tackle a mountain of homework after a long day of classes and practice. They face a difficult decision: pulling an all-nighter or receiving a bad grade.

Student-athletes often have around 10-15 hours of practice a week during their season, which means those who do sports year-round must develop a routine to practice their sports and get all their work done efficiently.

Senior Lucia Werner, who runs cross country, indoor track and outdoor track, said she’s learned not to always expect perfection from her work.

“If we have one day a week where I know I’m going to get home at 8:30 p.m., I kind of just accept that I’m either going to have to stay up late that night or maybe not be able to do every single little assignment as perfectly as I want to,” Werner said.

Freshman Lily Kleinbaum, who does cross country, indoor track and lacrosse, said she enjoys having a structured schedule and staying occupied with school and sports.

“I like to be busy, and it definitely helps me get all my work done,” Kleinbaum said. “I just like having a routine; it really helps me so I can just be productive and feel good.”

Junior Izzy Paes, who plays field hockey, ice hockey and lacrosse, said she gets home too late to complete her work during hockey season, so she has to make sure she completes it earlier in the day.

“I have a lot of free blocks, so instead of doing it at night because I’m so exhausted, I do it during my free blocks or during learning center,” Paes said.

Werner said having multiple things to look forward to, such as running goals, helps balance her schedule and include a greater variety of activities in her life.

“School can be kind of all-consuming, so having a different goal that you are pursuing or working towards that isn’t just your grades can balance you out and make you not feel like all your eggs are in one basket,” Werner said.

Paes said sports are a big part of her life since she’s played them since she was little.

“It keeps me on track; I feel like if I wasn’t playing sports, I wouldn’t know what to do with my free time,” Paes said.

The discipline that comes from having daily practice has also helped Werner in other aspects of her life.

“The work ethic and the discipline of having to constantly do things that are hard that you don’t fully want to do translates to other things like accepting that the purpose of everything you do isn’t for fun or sometimes you’re just gonna have to do things that aren’t that fun,” Werner said.

Kleinbaum said even though she often feels cramped with her time, she’s adjusted to her schedule and has learned that putting her phone away or not always hanging out with friends can help her complete her work faster.

“When you have a busy life, you need to do things simplified and not go all out with things,” Kleinbaum said. “It’s just knowing your priorities and doing what you need to do when you need to do it.”