Being an athlete in high school has challenges, keeping school work and other activities all in line, while still participating in the sport. Junior Morgan Sangl has played volleyball since she was 6. Due to COVID-19, her club volleyball season was canceled after only 5 tournaments. They were expecting to compete in at least 10 more tournaments and advance to nationals at the end of their season. The virus shut down her club and ended Sangl’s season. While Sangl would normally be having a tough time balancing both now all she has left is her school work which is now all given to her online instead of on paper in the classroom.
“I think the hardest thing is trying to keep everything in order.” Sangl said, “It’s a way different learning style then I’m used to.”
It is a challenge for Sangl to keep her online work in line and know what is all due and when. Sangl says she struggled to keep her classes in order before but it is much harder now with no reminders from teachers when things are due. Because of this virus, Sangl’s life has changed drastically leaving her with no more club volleyball and different learning requirements.
“The worst part is that it’s hard to stay on topic and stay productive.” Sangl said, “When I’m just laying alone in my bed, I get very tired of the everyday routine.”
Sangl gets tired of sitting in her bed all day due to not being able to leave her house. Sangl is used to the social environment at school and then to her club, it is a very drastic change to go from that to alone in her bed every day working on her homework online. She says laying in bed all day trying to do homework only makes her more tired and not willing to do her online work. Sangl has to get up and do stuff around her house or take a walk to get her ready for an online school day. The hardest class she takes part in is her only college class, CNA.
“I also am taking a Dual Credit class.” Sangl said, “Meaning that we have required hours we have to have, so the Zoom meetings are mandatory.”
Sangl is taking a CNA DC class and has to have a certain amount of hours for it to count for Metro. Missing a meeting could potentially hurt her grade or result from becoming a CNA so she sees it as her most crucial and challenging class.
Overall Sangl says what she misses most is the sport of volleyball and her life feels strange without having to constantly balance her school work and sports practice. She now has to keep up with workouts from home and try to get a few reps with the volleyball while also finishing all of her challenging online classes.