Homework, social life, practice, time with family, work, repeat. The life of an athlete involves commitment to one’s sport while also keeping an equal balance with everything else he or she to be involved in.

Revere athletes work to find the balance with their sports and everything else they are involved in.

Revere Senior Tori Vastagh, who has been cheering since she was in fourth grade and has run track since she was in seventh grade, explained what she has committed to for cheerleading.

“[I’ve] committed to cheering for football, basketball, and the competition team. Basketball and comp are very hard since they take place during the same winter season. It is a lot of stress since you have comp practice Monday and Wednesdays are competitions that are typically on Sunday’s. [We] have basketball games Tuesdays and Fridays while also keeping up with tumbling so we attend [our] team session’s on Thursday,” Vastagh said.

Junior Anna D’Amico, who is involved in volleyball, basketball and track, explained the different things she has had to sacrifice for her sports.

“Having a practice or game every day you have to sacrifice certain things, such as hanging out with friends/family, not having a lot of free time, and sometimes it is hard to keep up with academics. I personally think I do better and perform better when I am kept busy. You also have to maintain a healthy body so you can perform to the best of your ability. On game nights we are not getting back to the school until late so you really have to manage your time well and make sure you get all of your school work done so you can get some sleep that night,” D’Amico said.

Head women’s track coach Kory Rorabaugh talked about how a student athlete compares to other students in the school.

“Student athletes need to balance their lives differently than students who are not participating in extracurricular activities. They need to prioritize their school work and be able to balance the demand of sports along with the demands of school. They also represent our school on and off the playing field/court. That behavior and conduct not only reflects them and their families it also reflects their team and school,” Rorabaugh said.

Senior Madison Lanford has been playing softball since second grade and has been playing soccer since she was three. She explained the different types of things she is giving up.

“Due to my sports that I play, I have had to turn down opportunities that I really wanted to do/take part in outside of the field. Also, I played tournament softball in the summer and would spend most of my weekends at ballparks for hours a day. These teams required practices at least twice a week plus work outside of team things such as hitting by myself or extra conditioning,” Lanford said.

Junior Margaux Miller, who has been swimming for seven years–three of which have been with the high school team–explains what her commitment has been to her sport.

“It has been rough having to change high school coaches every year I have swum because I have to adjust to a new coaching style. Sometimes I have to miss out on social events such as football and basketball games. During the high school season I have little time to hangout with friends outside of the swim team, but my love for swimming makes it worth it. With that being said, I have made so many amazing friends on my team and on the other teams I compete with throughout the year,” Miller said.

Senior Eliana Burlotos has played lacrosse since fifth grade and has run cross country since seventh grade she explained the things she has had to sacrifice for her sport.

“It is really hard to juggle my athletics and and my academics. Especially on away game nights when you leave the school at 3:00 pm and get back at 9:30 pm. I have sacrificed a lot of sleep because of this,” Burlotos said.

Varsity wrestling coach Dan Mosher defined what commitment means to one’s sport.

“Commitment to a sport is multi-layered. It begins with simply showing up everyday to the required practices and scheduled events. Commitment also requires sacrificing in other areas of an athlete’s life, such as time with friends/family, diet/nutrition, etc. More than anything I feel that commitment to a sport requires a deep, internal motivation that pushes the athlete to not only practice and prepare, but to do so with a purpose of getting better and maximizing their effort in each workout. This takes a great amount of focus by the athlete to study their strengths and weaknesses, and put into place a plan that will enhance their strengths, as well as improve upon their weaknesses. The most committed athletes are those who spend the extra time to make themselves better, even when their coaches and teammates are not around,” Mosher said.

Senior Jack Baker has played football since fourth grade and has wrestled since sixth grade; Baker explained what it is like to be a two sport athlete.

“Being a two-sport athlete is hard at times, but I enjoy the practices and competing. I also enjoy being a two-sport athlete because I hang out with many different people while playing each sport,” Baker said.

Junior Jessica Vari explained her commitment to basketball.

“I play all year around, I play for my school during regular season and a club team during the spring and summer. The regular season I have practice every weekend and games on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Just about every spring/summer weekday is either a practice or workout,” Vari said.

Athletes have a strong commitment to the teams they are apart of, especially when they are balancing and keeping up with other things in their lives. An athlete commits himself/herself to their teammates, coaches and personal goals every time they leave the field, court, mat, track or pool.