Clarke Central High School senior Caedmon Churchwell (front) competes at the Clarke & Oconee Swim Invitational on Dec. 16, 2017. Churchwell started swimming when he was five-years-old for the Athens-Clarke County Dolphins swim team, and has stuck with the sport ever since. Photo by Hannah Gale
Clarke Central High School senior Caedmon Churchwell talks about his experience trying to manage his time as a student-athlete.
The 4:30 a.m. alarm blares in my ears as I slowly build up the courage to get out of my bed. As I sit in my bed watching the time slowly reach 4:34, I begin to think about hopping in that cold pool at 5:15 a.m. and then having to go back at 5:30 p.m. that night. I think about the homework I forgot to do the night before, and I remember the two tests I forgot to study for.
Being a student-athlete at Clarke Central High School comes with a lot of pressure. Throughout my high school career, I have been challenged to try and juggle my responsibilities to swimming and studying.
When I was in middle school, balancing my school work and my athletics was easy to do. However, when I got into high school it was a different story. I began staying up later at night to finish work, and then I’d have to wake up at 4:30 a.m. to go to practice.
As a swimmer, the older I got, the more pressure there was to get faster and get into the best college possible. Similarly, school got more difficult each year as teachers gave more and more work with more challenging content.
As a student and a swimmer, I have experienced many ups and downs, but in a country where attending college is so important to achieve a high standard of living, there is no room for failure. The demand for college continues to increase, applying more pressure to all students around the country.
Being a student athlete can be very time consuming and full of pressure, but at the end of the day, waking up at 4:30 to get in a 77 degree pool is just another Thursday for me.
