Athletes balance work, summer jobs and rest in summer months

The stereotype is that high school students go to bed late, wake up even later and fill their bodies with as much junk food as they can find during the summer months.

While for some students, that’s the case, for athletes, the summer has mostly just become a continuation of the norm.

With summer leagues and workout programs having taken root in virtually every sport, athletes across most Tri-parish schools tout there isn’t a whole lot of a “break” in the expression “summer break.”

“My summer so far has been non-stop. I work out from 6 in the morning to 8 at night,” Ellender High School basketball and baseball standout Gibby Talbot said.

Immediately before school lets out for the summer and for a few weeks after summer vacation begins, most athletes say they are given some time off from their respective sports.

That break is designed to give students time to study for final examinations and also clear their minds after a draining school year.

“I was so used to being at school the entire day, plus two-to-three hours later, too,” Thibodaux multi-sport athlete Eris Stove said. “A break is needed.”

But the rest period has become very short lived in modern athletics.

Virtually every prep football team holds organized workout sessions to lift weights all summer with most schools taking it a step further and playing in 7-on-7 summer leagues.

In basketball, it’s the same, as summer basketball leagues exist all across the state where teams can go and refine their chemistry in advance of the new season.

Ellender is playing in a summer league at Xavier University in New Orleans. Other teams are playing in more locally based leagues like at Terrebonne or E.D. White. Still others are playing in the local leagues and traveling elsewhere, too.

Locally, baseball teams can also keep their skills fresh in the Swampland summer league.

Sports like softball, volleyball and even track and field have gotten in the act, as well and host summer workouts.

This burden isn’t necessarily draining for the one-sport athlete, because being just dedicated to one thing without studying and homework isn’t very time consuming.

For the players who play two or even three and four sports, summer leagues mean that while yes, you’re spending less time in a classroom over the summer, it doesn’t necessarily mean that your time is “free.”

Each player is expected to take part in summer activities for all of the sports that he or she will play in the fall or spring.

That becomes a juggling act for many, because there are only so many daylight hours in a day.

“It feels nice to be out of school but I think I’m busier during the summer than I was during the school year,” Talbot said with a laugh.

Away from the playing fields, the day isn’t yet done, as student athletes do what their classmates do, too, make a little bit of summer money.

Even with summer workouts and summer league games, several locals tout that they are earning their keep during the break and are getting their first tastes at employment.

For some, that means working at a traditional place of employment.

Ellender football player Wilshawn Jones said he’s spending the summer working with a teammate’s father, who is a carpenter.

“He works my hours around my workout times, of course,” Jones said.

Terrebonne High School basketball player Raina Diggs is working as a lifeguard at a local public pool. Her teammate, Darian Dees is working at Wendy’s for some summer cash.

Lon Morris College basketball player and Terrebonne graduate Tamitris Bryant is spending her summer at Chuck E. Cheese, working in the game room and also in the kitchen.

Others are lucky enough to blend both work and play in less conventional arenas and are putting their athletic skills to good use.

“I give pitching and hitting lessons to kids to make a little bit of money,” Vandebilt softball player Leah Bergeron added.

Regardless of the profession student athletes have, the message tends to be the same, it’s all hard work.

“Between the seven-hour shifts five days out the week at work and summer workouts I still don’t get a break,” Bryant said.

But when athletics are over and the timecard has been punched, there is still plenty of fun to be had between players and their teammates.

Jones said he hosts Madden tournaments at his home following football workouts.

Bergeron can often be found with her teammates at the theater, or maybe even the mall.

“We’re just enjoying the summer,” she said.

Bryant is doing one better and is picking out her supplies for her August move to Texas, while also saying her goodbyes to as many people she can.

“I’m trying to spend time with just about everyone I know within the three weeks I have until summer school,” she said.

While the fun is OK among coaches, the message remains the same, keep the junk food away or proceed at your own risk.

Fall practices are coming and you’re expected to report back to school in shape for your new seasons.

“Coach tells us to watch what we put in our bodies and make sure we don’t sit on the couch all day,” Jones said. “Just stay away from all of the sugars and the fast foods.”

Ellender lineman Wilshawn Jones pushes a sled during spring practices. Individual conditioning workouts such as these are a large part of the summer, which has several athletes touting that the summer is more busy than the school year. CASEY GISCLAIR