From AYSO soccer to high school varsity football, sports have always been an integral part of growing up. But after years of soccer practices and football games, most students abandon their jerseys and prepare for the future. But there are always exceptions.

Class of 2014 alumnus Stephen Cho is one of these exceptions. Having played water polo throughout high school, Cho is a freshman at Harvard University, where he plays water polo for the varsity team.

Like him, many senior athletes had to face the choice of continuing to play for a college team or concentrating solely on academics as they began applying for the various colleges back in September.

For Cho, this part was the hardest, since he had to work to maintain a balance between his sport and his education.

“Time management is without a doubt the most important factor I need during the season,” Cho said. “When I practice four hours a day, I need to make sure I’m keeping up with my work and studies. It has definitely made me a more productive person.”

Even so, Cho maintains that playing water polo at Harvard has been all that he had hoped for and more.

“My Harvard teammates are some of the most genuine and passionate people I’ve met at my tenure here,” Cho said. “The older guys are great counselors not only in the pool but out of the pool too. You can’t really find a flaw in these guys.”

Another 2014 alumna, Sara Petterson, also decided to play golf in college and is attending Santa Barbara City College.

“I did golf in [college] because I thought it would be fun to do something for the school and having something to be committed to,” Petterson said. “It [is] a huge commitment.”

Petterson has noticed big differences at the higher level of competition.

“[In high school] you can get by by not sleeping much and doing homework after practice, but in college you will need all the sleep you can get and it is very important to manage the school work as the practices are much longer and more intense,” Petterson said.

Because golf has such a strict schedule as well as a number of tournaments, Petterson struggled to fit all of her schedules into her class time slots.  A typical tournament schedule start at 5:30 a.m. and lasts the entire day.

She has even had to take a math class at different university, and a couple online classes to complete her credits.

“I would always bring my laptop with me in the van going to tournaments,” Petterson said. “Since we’d usually get up so early on tournament days, I would be exhausted when I came home and it was so hard to study because of how tired I was.”

For other athletes who plan on playing a sport in college Petterson advises them to be prepared for  hard work.

“Make sure to get your classes along with a counselor to make sure you have a schedule that is manageable while playing the sport, as well getting classes on the right days and hours,” Petterson said.

Despite the cons of playing sports in college, she does not regret choosing to play golf in college.

“I have really enjoyed playing golf in college,” Petterson said. “It sure is a time commitment, but I miss it when my season is over.”