It was like clockwork. A tennis ball hits the racket, the concrete court, the other racket, and the concrete again. It was all you could hear, serene almost.

Serene that is, if you ignore the wind picking up, trees rustling, a loud truck passing by, music playing from the speaker, shoes scuffing the court, the ball hitting the net, or the occasional swearing coming from the opposite end of the court. 

Pop, pop, pop. The ball is hit out. 

The determination is there for one junior, Ginny Trevisan. On the court, she is 3rd singles and 2nd doubles for the Castleton Women’s Tennis Team. She is also on the Women’s Alpine Ski Team, where she races 2nd in Slalom and 3rd in Giant Slalom.

As busy as she is in her athletics, Trevisan is also an incredibly busy student as a molecular biology and biomedicine major, minoring in chemistry and premedical. 

“I use Google Calendar to plan out my days and my weeks, because if I don’t then I’ll forget everything if I don’t,” said Trevisan. 

Trevisan competes in her sports during the fall and winter seasons. She estimates that she dedicates around 15 hours a week to her sports, keeping her busy from August until mid-March.  

“Fun? I give up fun. I don’t get a lot of social life outside of sports. That’s my social life,” Trevisan said.  

With her busy sports season and loaded course schedule, Trevisan said that she still sleeps a lot every night, as it helps her to keep up with the physical and mental demands of being a dual-sport student-athlete. 

Pop, pop, pop. The serve is in. 

Eva Hofmeister similarly said that she does her best to get eight hours of sleep per night and intake enough food to be more overall balanced in her academics and sports. 

Hofmeister is a sophomore on Women’s Ice Hockey and Women’s Lacrosse at Castleton, and majors in Biology. 

“Sometimes the balance between the ice and turf can be tough on the body, but I push through it,” she said. “I do utilize my professors and the Academic Support Center for anything that I am struggling with or need extra time.”

Hofmeister attributes good relationships with each of her coaches and working closely with them to keep herself healthy. She mentions a similar relationship with her professors.

“Keeping your professors in the loop of things is very helpful and they can support you in any way possible,” Hofmeister said. 

In terms of managing both sports and academics, Hofmeister explains that going to boarding school before college, where she played both sports, made it not much of a transition to college but instead was about finding a proper balance. 

“I try to balance everything from athletics to academics to my social life. I make sure that each of the categories gets their equal share of attention,” said Hofmeister 

Hofmeister says being a two-sport athlete helps her improve her time management, and truly make the most of what it means to be a part of two sports programs at once. 

Pop, pop, pop. The serve is returned but lands out. 

While some student-athletes find it necessary to have outlets aside from their sports, graduate student Wayne Alexander has a slightly different view. 

“I find that my sport is actually a great outlet for stressors that might come from school, work, or just life in general. I know that even if I’ve had a long day, I can go to practice and leave that stuff at the door, and just focus on training for a couple hours,” he said.

Alexander competes for Men’s Cross Country and Indoor and Outdoor Track at Castleton, majoring in exercise science and minoring in nutrition. 

“You really have to love your sport. You won’t get much of a break during the school year, so if you don’t love what you’re doing, it’ll be pretty easy to burn out,” said Alexander. 

Alexander explains that he trains up to 25 hours a week in the fall season and during winter or spring track, it’s even more hours. 

“I give up a lot of my weekends. Throughout the year, all of my cross country and track meets are always on Saturdays, so having a Saturday off is somewhat rare,” said Alexander. 

Pop, pop, pop. 

Castleton’s dual-sport athletes understand that balance is necessary to maintain their personal and academic life. 

“It also helps a lot if you are close with your teammates since they will be the people you spend a majority of your time with,” Alexander said. 

“Remember that you and your mental health is important too,” Trevisan warned. 

“I have always wanted to be a college athlete and when I found out I could have the opportunity, I took it. I am glad that I am one and don’t regret the decision,” Hofmeister added.