Finding the balance: student gets into rhythm of school year

Freshman Katie Jones dances for Forest Hill Dance Company. She is focusing mostly on ballet, but she also does tap and jazz dance staples as well. 

     Katie has been dancing since she was three, and has been balancing the many other things that she does along with dance. Katie is currently playing on the varsity soccer team at North Harford, and also plays club soccer for her team Northern Elite.  

     According to The Northern Elite Soccer Club website, the mission of the club is “to provide a quality environment that will enable dedicated soccer players to work hard in developing and refining their total soccer skills to the highest levels attainable and to promote the principles of teamwork and good sportsmanship”.

     Katie does three classes of ballet a week, classes are “around four hours a week,” says Katie. With her tap and jazz classes, they are around two hours a week.

     Playing club and high school soccer, also while dancing can be stressful so Katie creates a schedule for herself. “I make a schedule for times to do homework, and then I’ll have everything ready for when I go to dance,” Katie says. 

     With Katie balancing soccer and dance, finding time to do school work can be tricky, states Katie “I might do some of my homework [during my dance classes] too.”

     After school Katie has practice everyday for soccer and sometimes club soccer practices on the same day. Her main thing that she is focusing on right now is her varsity soccer season. 

     “My [club soccer] coach is really understanding for club [soccer] and he [makes] practice optional right now for people that play high school [soccer] or if you need to study’” comments Katie. 

    Katie plays year-round soccer, so she does not dance anymore than five to six hours a week. Since she has been dancing and playing soccer for a long time, that means that she has been balancing dancing, soccer and school all at the same time. 

     With Katie playing year-round soccer she can not focus on her dance as much by herself. She can not focus more on dance because of soccer practices and games. Soccer practice is everyday after school, so she either goes straight from soccer to dance or soccer to home to do homework. 

     Katie enjoys dancing and she would say that her favorite part of dancing is, “Being able to express yourself not with your words, and I feel like it is a good way to express your feelings,” says Katie. 

     However, Katie enjoys doing all of these activities, she is able to balance them to maintain a positive mindset, attitude and a good role model.