Sophomore Saige Dickens is a dedicated soccer player outside of school. She started her sports journey by playing softball, but after playing for a little while, she realized it wasn’t her sport. The one thing she did like about it was the running. Dickens played rec soccer for a year before she made it into a club team. 

“It allows me to connect with other people from my school, but also other schools from club soccer,” Dickens said. 

Not only did this help Dickens make friends, but it also helped her get connections in this field. 

“Some of my closest friends come from soccer.” To add to that she says how it’s a great way to get things off her mind. 

This goes for a lot of people with sports or “hobbies” that they may have. It’s a good escape from reality. The only problem that she has come across has been school. Sometimes for games, she has to leave early and that affects her grades, so her parents set up a rule that if she wants to play then her grades have to keep her grades up. 

She talks about her plans and how she keeps her grades up in order to stay on her soccer team. The balance between school and soccer can be stressful but she believes that it’s worth it. In a way, Saige Dickens is saying that if you have something pushing you to be good in school it helps. She gets home and does her homework after practice so if or when she wants to hang out with her friends she can.