By Ryan O’Connor

“I’m sore,” and “I’m so tired from practice last night, I don’t even have time to watch dancing with the stars,” are only a few common complaints from student athletes. However, there are a few who don’t have time to complain; they are Naperville North’s overtime athletes that go from one practice to another.  I myself am a multi-sport athlete, I searched for others that share the same busy lifestyle and found a couple of Naperville North Huskies that find them self running from practice to practice with no time for dinner.

I talked to Cady Giazzon, a swimmer and a dancer at the same time… yes, at the same time. I asked Cady to take me through a regular day in her not so regular life. Tuesdays start with a not so friendly morning dip at 5:30 swim practice.  She joins the res

t of us for school, then back to the pool from the final bell to 6:30. This is just an average swimmers Tuesday

but Cady doesn’t head home for a large dinner like the rest of her fellow teammates she has a brief half hour to get to dance practice, which ends at nine. So, she is up and at school before 5:30 and leaves around 9:30.  I bet she doesn’t see the sun rise or set some days of the week. A common question presented to her is about how she manages school, Cady said, “Most of my days are crammed”.  She made it very clear to me that she does it because she loves it. “It is such a great workout, I can eat all the food I want!” she said. “Also, I have a really strong passion for dance. I

love the stage and competing”

Another huskie who does it all is one of the golf team’s best and the hockey team’s leading

scorer, Sean McDonald. He also runs from practice to practice, and often struggles to get home for supper. I asked Sean to take me through a random day of the week. His usual Thursday consists of regular school day followed by golf practice.  After golf he eats a “packed snack”.  Then, after the meal on wheels, he is on the ice at All Seasons Ice Arena for hockey practice at 8:20. He would then get off the ice around 10:00. I asked Sean “what about dinner?” and he replied, “I usually get fast food after hockey because it all that’s open. McDonald at McDonald’s.” Lastly, I asked the most important question, “How does your GPA handle those practice times?” He said his GPA does not suffer but his sleep habits definitely do, “Lots of late nights.” Why does he do it? Love of the game. In this case, love of the games.

This lifestyle is a choice and an easy one for sports-lovers. All multi-sport athletes struggle with homework deadlines, balancing recovery time, having social time, and sometimes intense road rage when trying to get from one practice to another. Most student athletes have mastered time management and enjoy the resting moments of a blank agenda afternoon once in a while. So next time you think about handing out grief about being sore or no time for homework or “exhausted” from your only practice the night prior, just think about the dual-sport athletes who literally didn’t get time to take a couch dive when they get home. Everyone knows time is on no one’s side, but multisport athletes’ time is spent in the best possible way: doing what makes them happy, even if they are sore as could be the next morning.