By Julio Verduzco, Talon Staff Reporter. Despite the glorious feeling of scoring a touchdown, racing for first, spiking the ball, or scoring a goal, student athletes carry a lot of weight on their shoulders whether it’s in the game or in academics. Each student athlete faces challenges that define their journey. These challenges are time management, motivation, lack of organization, and communication. Senior student athletes, share what motivates them, how they cope with any day to day problems, and also their accomplishments.

Motivation is a crucial part of a student athlete, it’s what can make them or break them. It can come in many different ways. Senior Lindsey Merten shares what motivates her to perform on the volleyball court. She says, “I love playing, so I want to do my best. But also not just about me, also my teammates and what we’ll get out of it in the end.” She also described her biggest challenge of being a student athlete saying, “If I’m having a bad day before a game or practice, having to go on to the court and forget about all that can be difficult.” Motivation is a crucial factor for student athlete success and the accomplishments are the most amazing to experience.

Senior Tyrone Stintzi shares his goals he has accomplished being a student athlete in football saying, “The goals I have established are passing all my classes and all that effort has paid off.” A series of challenges also comes along being a student athlete. He also says, “The biggest challenge I face is trying my best to find time to do homework.”

Quinn is a student who takes all the hardest courses while being an athlete, NHS president and also maintains a 4.0 GPA. Senior cross country runner Quinn Fetkenhour describes his challenges being a student athlete. He said, “The hardest part of being a student athlete is staying focused on homework and training.” A good tip he says, “Manage your time well to balance school work and practice.”