She tosses her racket on the ground, pulls off her tennis shoes, her fingers rush to tie her soccer cleats, rips off her shin guards and puts on her cheerleader uniform.

The fall season is a very busy time for Kaitlyn Walch.

Walch, along with a handful of other Southmoreland athletes, has a very busy schedule after a long day of school. Walch is involved in three sports during the fall season: tennis, soccer, and cheerleading; and two sports in the spring season: track and softball. Being a senior in high school and involved in various sports, life can get very hectic for Walch.

“Doing more than one sport at a time is definitely not easy,” Walch said. “I enjoy what I do, but I can’t be in three places at the same time, and coaches need to understand that.”

Walch said her athletic demands can affect her academics performance.

“My academics are affected because I don’t have much time to do homework,” she said. “If it doesn’t get done at school, it doesn’t get done.”

Along with Walch, this constant battle of balancing  homework, multiple sports, and sleep is something a handful of Southmoreland students have to face.

At Southmoreland, there a few student athletes that dedicate their fall season to more than one sport. These students include: Ronald Rodriguez, Olivia Porter, Megan King, Abigail Kubasky, Kaitlyn Walch, Emily Adobato, Madison Cowan, Ashley Matheny, Allison Sherbondy, Madesyn Bodenheimer, Scarlett Davidovich, Sebastian Kaczmarek and Brandon Binker.

Although participation in multiple sports and being in school is a challenge for a lot of student athletes, this is not the case for Madesyn Bodenheimer.

Bodenheimer described her experience of having sports and school at the same time.

“It doesn’t affect my academics because I don’t procrastinate or struggle with school in general,” said Bodenheimer. “In fact, it boosts my grades because I am relieving stress and pressure from my life.”

Although doing multiple sports affects student athletes performance in different ways, they all agreed on one thing: they couldn’t be able to do it without the support of their families.

Olivia Porter, a senior who is involved in soccer and football, said, “My family is my biggest supporter through my high school journey.”

Junior Emily Adabato, a cheerleader and member of the volleyball team, agreed.

“My family supports my participation 100 percent, and they are really helpful by taking me to and from practices and games,” she said. Adobato. “I couldn’t be anymore thankful to have the ability to be as involved as I am.”

Although it can get pretty hectic for many of these student athletes, many said they are happy with their decisions of being involved in more than one sport in the fall season and doing what they love.

Sherbondy, a junior who is a cheerleader and member of the volleyball team, said she values the experience of multiple sports during the same season despite the stress it causes on her personal schedule.

“Participating in a variety of sports makes me well rounded as a person,” Sherbondy said. “I wouldn’t ever want to change that.”