Behind the Eyes of a Student Athlete

By Dylan Xie Mar 31, 2026

Yunseo Kim Art

Eight hours, six class periods and a handful of worksheets into the school day, the reality of being a student athlete kicks in; the day has just begun, and hours of physically and mentally demanding work are to come. Commitment to school sports means not only the obvious long practice hours, but also significant and unexpected money and time commitment.

According to the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), the limit for athletic activities per week is 18 hours including practices, games, meetings and conditioning. Although policing this law may be difficult, the CIF states that they will utilize technology along with coaches and parents to make sure teams are held accountable. The rule was designed to prevent overtraining and allow student athletes to balance their academics with sports. Like many other schools across the nation, the time commitment for many Leland athletes approaches this limit. Many of the school’s teams practice for two hours everyday with competitions either during the week or on the weekend.

“During the basketball season, our training was every day from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. after school, not including games on Tuesday and Thursday night. These daily practices and games left me burnt out as I had no time to rest due to extensive homework I still had to do each day,” Sophomore Kaden Moisei said.

Sports such as cheerleading require hours of daily practice during the summer and throughout the year in contrast to other seasonal sports. Daily cheer training goes from 4 to 7 p.m. everyday with Monday practices with the football team. Those who participate in competitive cheer must attend competitions on the weekend and go to the weightroom during the week in addition to normal practice.

“Although our cheer schedule is grueling, we go to clinics and team bonding events where we get to hang out with our friends and relax. As for school, prioritizing tutorials and time after class is a necessity. Therefore, I plan out my schedule two weeks in advance to help get things done and maintain a stable lifestyle,” Sophomore Cheerleader Maya Shatout said.

In addition to the inevitable time crunch as a result of mandatory practices, athletic competitions sometimes

require students to miss classes. This makes it necessary to catch up on assignments or finish them early, not to mention constant communication with the teacher. All these factors can all add up in the long run, causing fatigue and burn out, especially during the busy parts of the season.

“Since baseball training takes up three hours of my time after school, not including arriving early, commuting 10 to 30 minutes back from games and showering, a large portion of my afternoon is gone. As a result, I have to compromise my downtime and exchange video games and Netflix for assignments to ensure that I have enough sleep and do not fall behind in classes,” Sophomore Zach Sutton said.

Furthermore, participating in sports can also involve significant hidden financial costs. While schools typically provide some equipment and facilities, athletes are often responsible for paying for personal gear, travel expenses and team events, and donations or direct payment are collected from families as team budgets to keep the program going and maintain facilities. According to Project Play, a branch of Aspens Institute’s Sports and Society program, the individual costs of soccer and basketball range $300 to $700 and $200 to $500 respectively. Other sports such as hockey can range from $4000 to over $10000 as it requires specialized equipment.

“The cost of hockey gear can vary depending on the position you play. Since I am a goaltender, all the equipment in total costs over $8000 dollars. A basic pair of skates is $1200, glove blockers are $600 dollars each, and my goalie mask is over $800, not to mention broken sticks and other equipment. This all comes out of my parent’s pockets since clubs and school teams only cover jerseys and socks,” Freshman Dexter Hardy said.

For school sponsored sports, many athletic programs rely on fundraising efforts and financial support from families and the community. For example, teams commonly raise money through parent donations on online fundraising platforms such as Vertical Raise and community sponsorships. These funds are used to pay for uniforms, equipment, transportation to games and maintenance of athletic facilities. Some programs also choose to host clinics, camps and tournaments to raise money for their team budget. However, the financial needs of each team may vary based on the sport and equipment required, meaning funding is distributed differently for different sports.

“Since Vertical Raise and team contributions have not been as successful over the past few years, we have turned to different revenue sources. For example, boys basketball raised over $13,000 just from their clinics last year. This expands our sources of fundraising beyond parents and relatives, allowing us to buy more equipment and gear given that donations are not sufficient,” Mike Sparrer, Athletic Director, said.

The experience of playing school sports involves much more than what is shown during a game or competition. Time wise, there exists a fine balance between competitiveness and intensity in training versus burning out the athletes and financially, the hidden costs of being a part of the sports team is inevitable to ensure the smooth-running of the programs.

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About the Contributors

Dylan Xie

Staff Writer

Dylan Xie is a sophomore at Leland High School and a staff writer for The Charger Account. In his spare time, he likes to play soccer, work out, and hang out with friends.

Yunseo Kim

Art Director

Yunseo Kim is a senior at Leland High School and is the Art Director for The Charger Account. When she has free time, she enjoys playing jazz and hanging out with her fat black cat. She also enjoys going on park walks when stressed, and loves biking.