Rock Island High School senior Eva Essman has made the decision to participate in both soccer and track in the same season for her final year in high school. The work is a lot, but Essman loves the challenge.
Throughout high school, Essman has always done multiple sports. In the fall, she does both Football Cheerleading and Cross Country, in the winter, she does Basketball Cheerleading and Competitive Cheerleading, and now in the spring she is doing both Soccer and Track. Eva says, “I have always wanted to do soccer and played growing up, so when I heard that coaches were allowing girls to do both, I jumped on that opportunity and am so glad I did.” Essman loves to stay busy, and chases the challenge of balancing sports and school at the same time, stating, “Balancing all three has kept me busy, but it’s not something I can’t handle. Doing two different sports is something I do throughout the year, and has taught me how to manage my time and balance my life. Finding the balance can be hard, but once I get used to it, things go pretty smoothly from there.” Girls soccer coach Zach Vroman is impressed with Eva’s work ethic and how well she does it, stating, “I think Eva is doing great at balancing both sports. She is great at communicating with her coaches, and is a wonderful self-advocate. She lets us know when she is overwhelmed or overworked. It is very important that student-athletes learn to speak up for themselves, and Eva is doing just that.”
Both the soccer coaches and track coaches have been working together to make sure their athletes can make both sports work together. Essman says, “The coaches have been really flexible about letting me go do both. They have been willing to help me figure out which days I’m needed for which sport and which practices are more important for which days,” which helps show that the coaches are doing everything they can to help out. Vroman adds, “Coach Williams and I met at the beginning of the season, and compared schedules, but the majority of work comes down to the student-athlete. I have roughly 55 student-athletes to be in charge of, and I know Coach Williams has as many, if not more, so the individual needs to be aware of their schedules and determine what is the priority for that day or that week.”
Essman loves to chase the challenge and works hard for all she does. As for recommending other students to do multiple sports in the same season, Essman says, “If you want a bit of a challenge then yes. It’s cool to be a part of a team sport and get to experience working together to achieve goals in soccer, but it’s also fun to watch yourself grow in track with the individualized aspect of the sport. Doing both works well for me, and is something that I enjoy, but I would not recommend it to everyone because it takes a lot of time and commitment.” Coach Vroman also adds, “It is certainly not easy at all. It is a lot of work, and has to be extremely stressful. To balance one sport with classes can be tough so to double the work has to be difficult. I wouldn’t recommend it to too many students, but seeing Eva do it so well gives me hope that more students will attempt it for next year.” If you love challenges and heavy workloads, consider Essman’s choices, and maybe make them for yourself, as well.
