Most people play sports in high school, but only some of them continue their sports career into college. Students that choose to play sports in high school have to deal with managing their time of school work and sports. Most students are able to manage their time well on and off the field, but some students struggle with it. At Ipswich, a huge percentage of students are amazing student athletes. They are able to combat their school work well, while also having the ability to perform their best on the field.

The term student-athlete is used throughout high school and college. When students sign up to play a sport they also agree to sign their student-athlete commitment. This states that the students school work takes priority over the commitment to the sport. Here in Ipswich there are rules set to guide students towards this style of academics before sports. One of these rules is that if a student has more than one F in a class, they will be unable to participate in their current sport. Also students must be in school to be able to participate in sports. They must arrive before 8:30, have less than 6 tardies, and cannot be dismissed before 1:30/12:30. This motivates students to strive for positive academic behavior as well as keeping up with their athletic performance.

Sports play a heavy roll at Ipswich High School. In Ipswich, “about 62%-64% of our students play a sport,” says Mr.Gallagher, the Ipswich Athletic Director. Also most of the athletes in Ipswich are two or three sport athletes. For Ipswich being a small school the level of athleticism is overwhelming. Athletes take pride in their sport and give it their 100% effort. Having students that are able to perform this well on the field and off the field is a great accomplishment of Ipswich High School.

Sports play a major role in our community and our society. It gives people things to do and talk about. In the local paper there are always articles about the local sports teams, including many about Ipswich sports. There have recently been multiple student-athletes who have been accepted into college to play sports. Some of these student athletes include Anthony Marini, who is committed to Assumption College for track. Kelsey Daly is committed to Merrimack College to play lacrosse. Another student athlete that has been accepted into college to be a student athlete is Jake Sadoway who was Accepted into Keene State to continue his swimming career.

When Jake Sadoway was accepted for swimming he was really excited to be able to have the opportunity to continue his sports career. Jake has played sports in all four years of his high school career, from baseball, to swimming, while being a student athlete and getting good grades. He knows that he will have to continue his academic success when he becomes a student athlete in college. Jake understands that it is a major commitment; he states, “Looking at the coach’s weekly routines, I will be working in roughly 12-14 hours a week at minimum.  It is a large time commitment but it’s typically early in the morning or mid afternoon so it leaves plenty of time to hang out with friends and do school work,” said Jake.

Jakes knows the importance of succeeding in school because, “At a division 3 level, I don’t believe it will affect my grades. After talking with coaches I get the feeling they really do care about your academics and achieving your highest grades possible,” said Jake. This shows that is it important that you are a student athlete because even the coaches know the importance of being a student first.

Another student-athlete who is continuing her athletic career in college is Kelsey Daly. Kelsey is committed to Merrimack for lacrosse and knows the importance of being a student athlete. By playing sports her whole life, she has developed a great work ethic that shows on and off the field. Kelsey thinks that by playing sports it has allowed  “Athletes to do better in school including myself because we have a set structured schedule. We go to school, practice, eat, shower, do homework and go to bed. We do that everyday so it becomes a routine.” Playing sports has made Kelsey a better student-athlete. She is excited to continue her sports career; “I have grown up surrounded by sports and I’m honestly scared to stop playing high school sports. High school sports has the best atmosphere and the motivation of making the most of these years is what pushes me,” says Kelsey. High school sports have motivated her to be successful in school. They have led to her getting good grades and have allowed her to become a successful student athlete here at Ipswich High School.

Student-athletes strive to do their best on and off the field. They learn valuable lessons in the classrooms that help them on the field, but also learn lessons on the field that help them to be successful in school. Playing sports will eventually come to an end for everyone. These athletes will be able to continue their sports career for at least in college, because they put in the extra effort the past few years on and off the field.