Being a student athlete can require a delicate balance between school and sport as the demands of one can often infringe on the needs to of the other. In the effort to alleviate this, some coaches on campus have set up study hall nights.

“[Study halls] are done collegiately. If you go to a major college, they require athletes to attend study hall,” cross country coach Greg Christansen said. “So I thought, if it’s good enough for college athletes, it’s good enough for Lovejoy athletes.”

While the goal of study halls is to improve grades, they can also build relationships between teammates as well.

“[The study hall] brings them closer together, and they get to know each other in a different light, rather just in a pair of running shoes,” Christiansen said. “They get to help each other with their class work, and younger ones feel comfortable about asking the older ones about algebra and chemistry and things like that.”

Senior cross country runner Chloe Tedder is able to kill two birds with one stone by getting service hours when she tutors on Wednesday nights.

“If someone has a subject they need to be tutored in, we can help each other out,” Tedder said.

The golf team also has a study hall during the athletic period the day after tournaments. They also get a study hall the 5th Friday of every 6 weeks.

“You can get all your stuff turned in for the end of the grading period,” junior golf player Abby Martin said. “It helps the day after tournaments because you miss a lot of school with golf tournaments, so it’s great to have extra time to get caught up on what you missed. Also, it’s nice to get your work done before the end of the 6 weeks.”

However, not every sport on campus has a designated study hall.

“I have a lot of homework, and football takes up a lot of my time with two hour films after school and lifting for three hours, getting up at six o’clock every day and not getting home until nine,” senior football player Sam Wortham said. “I wish we had a study hall.”

For tennis players, study hall isn’t an option as head coach Adam Cherry encourages his players to take care of their business.

“He always tells us that if we need to go to tutoring that we go in the morning,” senior tennis player Clarisa Salinas said. “We have to take responsibility for our studying and tutoring and be ready to practice in the afternoon.”