Student athlete workloads are one of the things that many people agree is not talked about enough. Junior Ashlyn Acree manages her school work while maintaining good grades and a successful, busy, softball career. 

“I have practice from 3:30 – 5:45 every day and then I go home and try to get my homework done and then I eat dinner and go to bed,’” Acree said. 

She has been on varsity since freshman year and is taking advanced classes, which requires her to balance her grades and her sport. Acree focuses on prioritizing school first and working on softball. 

“If you don’t have good grades, you can’t play,” Acree said. 

Even though she does focus on getting her school work done first, the workload can sometimes be overwhelming. 

”It’s challenging doing harder classes along with sports. Softball practice is every day after school, which doesn’t leave a lot of time for homework and stuff. I can manage, but it does get overwhelming,” Acree said. 

Acree says that when she is feeling stressed or overwhelmed, she likes to get her negative emotions out by playing softball. 

“Softball really calms me down because I get to hang out with my friends and play the sport I love, which gets me thinking elsewhere,” Acree said. 

Many people will agree that the overall well-being of student athletes is incredibly important.

*This story inadvertently discussed mental health out of context and has since been corrected.