With several months of school already behind us, many students are embracing some methods and approaches that are yielding them success in their endeavors in academics and extra-curricular activities.  In a student body like New Providence High School, we find adolescents juggling athletics in and out of school, clubs, music commitments, volunteering, and more, all while undertaking rigorous and challenging classes.  At times, we feel toppled over and tapped out under the stress of our undertakings.  Some of the most time-crunched students at our high school are those who participate in marching band and sports.  Over 1/5 of the student body are members of the marching band and some students are brave enough to add a sports commitment on top of that.

 These students are known as “band-athletes”, a term coined by the high school band director, Mr. N.  “Band-athletes” are the epitome of a “busy kid” as they attend a sports practice, game, or meet right after school and after a short reprieve, head straight to marching band practice for another 2 to 2 1/2 hours.  After exerting themselves starting with a full day of school (sometimes from 7 in the morning for 0 period students) to 9 at night on Mondays and Wednesdays, band-athletes have learned what it means to be “pushed to the limit.”  They know what it means to stay up until the wee hours of the morning and spend every minute possible to get homework done.

 As band-athletes have learned, there are many sacrifices that must be made to maintain a high level of success in all endeavors (sleep being a major one).  There are also many tips and pointers we have to offer all the students at NPHS to help aid in their success for this year and years to come.   The following seniors are members of varsity football, soccer, and cross country and all 4 year members of the marching band.

What is the most important lesson you have learned in your experience as a band athlete?

Dan Patel: The most important lesson I have learned is that what you get out of an experience is what you put in.  If you don’t give it everything you’ve got, you’ll walk away with less than you wanted.

Brian Urness: Time management is very important.  Doing both has taught me a lot about saying no to things that would be fun or I would want to do, but I can’t because I don’t have the time.

Camille Ake: The most important lesson I’ve learned is that it is possible for you to do all the activities you love as long as you stay smart about how you use your time.  Band and sports constantly overlap, but if you’re smart about it then you can enjoy both just the same.

Christina Vyzas: The most important lesson I’ve learned is time management because especially with hard classes you need to be efficient to get all of your work done

Brian Charatan:  The most important lesson is communication and honoring commitments. I made difficult commitments to two groups and it was important to communicate with both directors to make sure my time was maximized with each group.
What was the most rewarding experience through your time in sports and marching band?  

Dan Patel:  The most rewarding experience would be playing the halftime show at the Dayton game this year.  Ever since I’ve been on varsity for football, I almost never got to miss the halftime meeting.  Last year I didn’t get to play a single halftime show with the band which was hard.  I felt like I was letting down my friends on the band.  Coming out to that game, beating the heck out of Dayton the first half, and then getting to play the halftime show for the first time in two years was amazing.

Brian Urness: Being able to play halftime in my uniform after playing a game is one of the reasons why I do the two activities,  It shows my hard work pays off by getting all the “you do football and marching band?” questions after the game.

Camille Ake: The most rewarding experience being a band athlete would be the fact that both the sports teams (in my case cross country) and the band treat you as though you were there 100% of the time.  If I have to leave one activity to go to another, my peers always wish me good luck.  Sometimes when I miss certain moments, it really does feel like 50% XC and 50% band, but all my peers make me feel like I’m 100% on both teams

Christina Vyzas:  The most rewarding experience is probably watching the band get better as we practice. The change from preseason to the end of the season is insane and it’s amazing how much the rookies improve.  

Brian Charatan: The most rewarding experience has been the important life lessons I’ve learned while trying to juggle the two activities

What is the hardest part about undertaking two demanding commitments?

Dan Patel: The hardest part about undertaking two demanding commitments is how taxing it can be mentally.  There are a good amount of nights when I’ll get home at nine and have a pretty good amount of homework to get done.  After a month or two it can just be exhausting.  Combine that with college apps and it could get ugly.

Brian Urness:  Once again, the hardest part is balancing sports, band, and academics.  It’s a huge challenge

Camille Ake: Finding time to sleep has been my biggest problem because you have to go to school first, then sports practice, then band, and then find time to do your homework.  It takes a lot of time to do both activities, but it’s worth it in the end.

Christina Vyzas: The hardest part is managing time and making sure you get all of your work done.  After zero period, a long school day, a soccer game, and band practice it is easy to just go home and sleep but it is important to study and do homework in order to keep up in classes. Everyday is like a race to get as much sleep as possible and the more efficient you are in getting schoolwork done, the more sleep you can get!

Brian Charatan: The hardest part of doing both activities is definitely the time commitment each activity demands. Often times there are days where I am at school from 8 in the morning to 8 at night going from school to a soccer practice or game and then to band.

What advice and tips do you have for students who feel stressed over school and extra-curriculars?

Dan Patel:  There’s a quote I found by Theodore Roosevelt that I take to heart, and it goes “Do what you can with what you have.”  If you’re worrying about homework at practice, you’re wasting time. You’re at practice so focus on practicing your butt off.  It works the other way too.  If you worry about all of them at once, it’ll overwhelm you.  Mental separation makes things manageable, not easy, but definitely possible               

Brian Urness:  Do the work and have fun doing it!  Be happy that you have the opportunity to do all the activities that many kids cannot do at other high schools.  Also don’t say yes to doing other things that you know you don’t have time for.

Camille Ake: My advice for anyone who’s stressed is to just take a little bit of time to just not do anything.  Maybe start your homework after you take a nap, or play a game on your phone.  Trying to do one thing directly after the other just stresses you out more.

Brian Charatan: Sit back and take a deep breath. High school and its activities are supposed to be fun.

Christina Vyzas: I think there is a lot to learn from taking on two demanding commitments.  Although it is difficult it has helped me to learn the importance of hard work and time management.  Sometimes I feel like the pressure of trying to do so many things at once forces me to get things done quickly and I am more efficient in the fall, my busiest season.  It’s difficult, but it’s possible and you learn a lot!