As February begins and January finally comes to an end, most QHHS sports have started up again, and those who made it their New Year’s resolution to become active are finally doing so.

But, all of this reinvigorated activity (added to the stress of a month’s load of work being dumped onto students’ backs) invites the question: Can all students handle the pressure?

Nahomy Ramirez, a Quartz Hill freshman and a proud member of the swim team, explained her struggle with balancing her after school activities with her school work, chores, and family: “I have swim practice Monday through Friday every week, at 7:00. So, every day, I have to come home and quickly do everything that I need to get done before going to practice.” Discussing if she found it difficult to perform as both an athlete and a student, she responded, “I guess some people find it difficult, and some don’t, but I guess it really depends on the person. I can get by.”

For students like Nahomy, getting back into the groove of waking up, going to school, going back home, and gearing up to play again takes some work. But, it does not really affect her physically or mentally (despite a few sore days after practices).

For others, the adjustment is harder.

Now, I won’t lie. Over the span of both Thanksgiving and Christmas break, I gorged myself on everything I could lay my eyes on and unfortunately (but unsurprisingly) gained a few pounds. However, when I returned to school, that fact did not affect me at all.

If you are a student who participates in a weight-based or weight-classed sport such as wrestling, those few pounds can greatly affect how you perform. While it would be a easier for most to assume that everyone on the wrestling team goes about moving in between weight classes healthily, that would not be truthful.

An anonymous source expressed how they found themselves after the break: “I wanted to get back into my weight group by the next weigh-in, so I stopped eating for a few days – but it was only until the weigh-in. Other than that, I don’t plan on making it a habit.”
Unhealthy tactics of gaining or losing weight can negatively affect the health of young athletes. Especially for high schoolers, who are still growing, denying a body what it needs to perform (on top of pushing it to work harder than most) can lead to a trend, even if most do not want to admit the same.

Having students fretting about their weight produces dangerous methods for both boys and girls to manipulate their bodies in ways they should not.
Cheerleaders who want to lose just enough weight to become a flyer or members of the track team who think they need to shed some weight are also susceptible to this toxic mindset.
Sports can be used as an outlet, something to strengthen both one’s mind and body, but at a certain point, one must draw a line as to how much grind one is putting into their athletic performance.