Sports, Music, School: Just part of everyday life for this Hillcrest Husky

By Bob Bedore | [email protected] 

Some parents have a hard time getting their kids out of bed just to go to school. But for the parents of Hillcrest High School Senior Amelia Slama-Catron, keeping her in bed might be the tougher job. 

Amelia will be keeping herself busy this year as she participates in four sports (soccer, cross country, basketball, and track), performs with two school bands, works an after-school job, and, of course, concentrates on her school work. And even her school work is out of the ordinary. She is part of the International Baccalaureate program at Hillcrest which carries with it extra homework. 

How does she do it?

“I work really hard to manage my time,” Amelia explained. “The teachers are generally pretty understanding and they help me, but I just have to make sure that what needs to get done gets done.” 

And don’t forget about the parents who have been there to support her through all of this. Making sure Amelia gets to all the sports and music practices, as well as attending the games and performances, is no small feat either. 

“My parents have been great and very supportive,” she said. “I think I’ve had a parent at every basketball game and I know they’ve sacrificed. I also know that they get tired of me talking about what’s sore or that I’m tired, but I think they enjoy it as well.” Both parents played sports in their youth. 

Oh, and there’s even a little sister who gets dragged along to eight-hour track meets. 

“It can be rough sometimes,” Amelia said. “There are nights when games go long and then I have to finish some homework, but I still have to be at 6:30 band practice.” 

This is a house where snooze alarms are presumably outlawed[LL1] .

The next logical question after “how” does someone do all of this is “why?” 

“It’s just been a part of my life,” she said. “I’ve been playing soccer since I was about 3, and basketball also started early for me. Then track and running came along my freshman year because I wanted an off-season sport.”

Let’s just stop for a moment and appreciate that running up and down both a soccer pitch and basketball court wasn’t enough for her. Now, back to the “why?” 

“The reward part is seeing the successes and seeing everything balance out. When I first started I actually had some doubts. And people told me that I couldn’t do it. So part of the reason is to prove to them and to myself that I could do it.” 

But later Amelia gave a likely truer reason. 

“I like winning,” she said with enthusiasm. “It’s also fun to meet all the different people and have great teammates.” 

The way Amelia runs, slowing down is not likely in the cards even when she makes it to college. She plans on continuing with sports, though the number might drop down a bit. But studying could get tougher because she is already planning on a double major in marine biology and education. 

No matter where Amelia goes or what she decides to do, one thing is almost certain. She is likely to succeed and can teach us all about what hard work and perseverance can do for you. But let’s just hope that she doesn’t add on another sport before the year is over.

 

Editor’s note: Amelia is the daughter of City Journals writer, Julie Slama.