With fall sports and classes going into full swing, student-athletes are beginning to feel the pressure of balancing school, sports, and spiritual life. 

Students, especially upperclassmen, know how hard it is to manage to stay on top of classwork, excel at their sport, and maintain a healthy social life. With seniors applying to college and juniors preparing for the SAT, it isn’t easy to find success in varsity sports while also trying to focus on future goals. As much as students want to give one hundred percent effort into everything, it feels impossible to do it all.

However, by strengthening our relationship with God, we can calm some of the stress that comes with these heavy responsibilities. While talking to Father Mike Schmitz, he brought up the importance of maintaining a healthy relationship with God while dealing with the pressure of sports. He spoke of the idea that “you matter” and God will love you no matter what. If you’re worth something to God, then “you are worth taking care of, even in your brokenness…the best step is to ask for help”.  

About 35% of elite athletes have mental health concerns which vary from burnout to anxiety. Many different aspects of a person’s sport can affect their mental health and eventually affect all parts of their life. It’s important to seek help right away when we are feeling any kind of anxiety or stress surrounding your sport. 

Oftentimes, students seek validation from their sport and, while it is important to care about your performance, it becomes unhealthy when students let their sport become their worth. If you are struggling with balancing sports & school, it’s important to ask for help from God, teammates, or even therapists on campus. 

Sophomore on Varsity Cross Country, Eva Smith, explains how her relationship with God influences all aspects of her life. She brought up that she races “for the glory of God and my team.” Before each run, the team prays together and thanks God for the opportunity to be able to be active and run together as a team. 

Father Mike explained that “we can integrate faith into our sports by doing everything for the glory of God.” Sometimes it can be hard to keep a positive mindset if you aren’t performing in the way you want, but by bringing faith into the game, we can relax in knowing that God is rooting for us.