Boarders are among the population of students who attend club sports, and their forms of transportation are limited, creating challenges. Nevertheless, each of these students learns to manage their time and construct a functioning ride schedule.
As a local boarder, Addy Victoria ‘28, who plays volleyball, believes that “transportation to and from [her] club is not an issue” for her. On her practice days, her father “drives [her] to and from” her club, her father relieving her from the stress of finding a form of transportation that international students may experience. Still, the commute for Victoria spans around 45-50 minutes, taking up much of her time. She has learned to manage her time well “on days [she does] not have club to make sure [she has] enough time to finish all of my homework.” However, on top of finding time to do homework, she also has to manage her sleep schedule “considering [that she is] sometimes getting back to school rather late.” And so, although Victoria is a local boarder, she faces many similar challenges as those of international boarders and also overcomes many challenges of her own.
McKenna Ruland ’27 attends hockey for the club Mass Spitfires 16U Tier 1. Ruland comments that “[she] got lucky this year because a day student from Milton was on the team.” The pair carpool together. For Ruland, transportation has become less of an issue than in previous years where she had to find “a teammate's parent/family pick [her] up and take [her] there and back to Milton.” Because most of Ruland’s games occur on the weekends instead of the weekdays, Ruland manages her homework by completing it on Saturday instead of “waiting till [she gets] back on Sunday nights.” These commutes on Sundays range “from 30 minutes to two hours, depending on where the game or practice is located.” Thus, she makes sure she spreads out her homework through Saturday “rather than jamming it all into one late night.”
On the other hand, Lucas Xia ‘28 utilizes a different form of travel on the way to his club and back. Xia attends “high school competitive rowing with the Neponset Rowing Club.” With the commute being only 1.5 miles, Xia and his teammates “usually jog to the launch right after school and make it to practice right on time.” However, on the way back, they “hitch rides from other teammates.” Even with a short commute Xia juggles with challenges of his own. His daily practices prove as obstacles to managing homework and dorm dinners. His club “often [has] regattas that take up the majority of a day on the weekends, [taking] up a lot of free time and homework time.” When asked how he handled such a heavy schedule, Xia explained: “I think the key to managing this type of schedule is to really plan your schoolwork ahead. As long as you have a clear idea of what's ahead, it helps you prepare yourself and stay on top of your work.” His response reflects the similar pattern in what these athletes have learned to excel in: time management.
Although it may seem that transportation stands as the greatest issue to these boarders, they brought up the pain in managing homework just as much, if not more. And with such, they remind us that, at the end of the day, all of these athletes are not just Milton athletes but also students.