When the clock in the locker-room strikes 5:21 a.m., I, along with many other Staples athletes, am preparing for a morning practice. While the rest of Staples is asleep in cozy, comfy beds, this select group of swimmers, baseball players and hockey players are pushing themselves to their mental and physical abilities. Here is what goes through my head every morning at 5am when my alarm goes off and I make my case for and against going to morning practice:

Of course I should go:

Time Management

Knowing the alarm is going to go off at 5 a.m. and you can’t do anything about it causes all of us to work our hardest to get to bed and enjoy every minute of sleep possible. There is no procrastination, or watching one more Netflix show before you finish that chemistry homework. We just do our work and brush our teeth.

Mental Strength

Forcing yourself up out of bed requires a certain strength that many people do not have. Mental toughness is important to every athlete and being able to go to practice with little rest and still work hard is a very good skill. Practicing when you are tired helps you be prepared to play well even after a long day of games.  

That Certain Feeling of Accomplishment

Knowing you have finished a practice at 7 a.m. makes many athletes extremely proud. Going to school with your fellow classmates that slept in two hours more than you gives all of us a certain feeling of accomplishment. We are wide awake by the time we get to school and even more ready for our day. Also, who doesn’t like bragging about how committed you are to your sport?

I am fine in my bed:

Not Enough Sleep

High schoolers have enough trouble getting seven hours asleep on a regular basis, add in morning practices and that number quickly shrinks to five. Without a decent amount of sleep many teenager’s grades start to suffer. With all the stress that high schooler’s face such as homework, college, sports and social life, getting to bed at a reasonable hour is crucial to their well being.

Procrastination

All the social media distractions make it hard for students to focus. While morning practice often does get athletes to bed early, it often causes procrastination at the same time. Many athletes will tell themselves they need to go to sleep at a certain time and as a result they will put all the things they need to get done off to the next night.

So, Should We Wake Up?

This decision is up to the athlete. In many cases morning practices are too much for an athlete to handle and one practice a day is enough for them. But if they are able to attend morning practices without it hurting their academics and stress level it is great. It provides an easy way to get ahead of your teammates and compete to your maximum potential.