Juggling Sports Friday, January 30, 2009 By Elizabeth Sharkey - Advertising The bell rings. It's a sigh of relief for most students, but some athletes have to stay after school to work on their athletic abilities. Once practice is over it's another sigh of relief until they have to "Go home and hit the books" as Girls Basketball Coach Meyer reminds students after every practice. Coach Meyer, also a math teacher at Cameron High School, believes, "School is most important. Obviously everybody has to make sure they do well academically, get good grades so they can get their diploma, and obviously that's the goal that we have. Sports are important because they teach a lot of things about life and life lessons that will be important to the ones that participate in them." Mr. Meyer sometimes sees the students that participate in sports grades start to slip. "As coaches we try to monitor our players grades so if they do start to drop a little bit behind then we would bring them in for study halls before or after school or make sure they are getting the help they need during seminar." Sophomore Tanner Johnson says he does seem to fall behind in some classes during his sports seasons. "Wrestling takes up a lot of time. Any free time I do have is spent doing homework." Sophomore Kelsa Noeller agrees with Tanner. "I do sometimes feel behind in some of my classes," she explained.   Balancing sports and school work can be challenging, but ultimately helpful. Coach Meyer thinks, "Participating in sports helps students manage their time effectively and stay organized so they are able to get their homework done while still participating in activities." Kelsa sees the activities as a motivational tool. "Being in sports gives me a reason to do good in school. Without good grades I would not be able to play," states Kelsa.   Signing up for a sport is much more than being loyal to your team. You also still have the responsibilities for your own school work. Your grades you earn in high school will be the key element to your success later in life and the points you earn on the score board won't matter so much out of high school. Just remember, it is just a game.

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