Thirty-one student-athletes have benefitted from Debra Deane Little and Robert Little Academic Scholarships for Varsity Athletes this year.
Balancing course work with the demanding schedule that comes with participation in team sports requires excellent time management skills. Although competition is on hold this year because of the pandemic, we asked this year’s recipients for their top time management tips.
Abigayle Hourigan, fourth-year student, Women’s Volleyball
Abby Hourigan (Photo by Ellery Platts)
“I always try to get my work done before practice. I make sure I have enough time so I’m able to practice so that I can do what I love, which is volleyball …. Volleyball is helpful when I’m stressed because it takes my mind off schoolwork as well, so it’s a really good outlet.”
Aidan Badcock-Parks, first-year student, King’s Badminton
Aidan Badcock-Parks
“I can attribute 150% of my time management skills to having a planner and sticking to a rigid schedule that both FYP [Foundation Year Program] and athletics can provide. Because then you know … Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday at this time you have your FYP tutorial, so you have to watch your lecture before that.
“Sticking to structure and sticking to a schedule is the biggest tip that I can give.
“Throughout high school, being on student council and being part of this and part of that, I might completely forget about something, but I would have it written down.… My workspace? Covered in sticky notes.”
Mali Triger, first-year student, Women’s Rugby
Mali Triger
“I’ve been teaching myself time management for a really long time because … for me sports is something that I have to do in a day, or it’s just not going to be a good day. My mind’s just not going to be in it—it’s just not good.
“I’ve been in this situation before where it’s too academic, or not enough academic—too much sports or not enough—so I’ve really tried to find my balance … I think what’s the most important to me is to have one set thing. It could be anything, it could be, ‘at 4 p.m. I’m going to play music,’ but for me it’s ‘at 4 p.m. I’m going to go to the gym.’ Just setting that one thing, it kind of builds your day up.”
Ethan Oderkirk, first-year student, Men’s Soccer
Ethan Oderkirk
“I am very much a guy who just goes with the flow. I believe you’ve got to get it done as soon as possible. It’s very important not to procrastinate or have distractions around you while completing work.”
“Tips from me? I’d say just get it done, suffer through it! Soccer’s a different story but for school it’s just get it done.”
Leigha Eisan, first-year student, Women’s Rugby
Leigha Eisan
“You have to be very considerate of your time spaces … you have to think ‘you have morning free, you have afternoon free, but after 7 p.m. you don’t have any time.’ And then you have to take into consideration your physical state; after rugby I’m usually dead-tired, I usually want to get in the shower and go to sleep.
“So I usually split my days up. It’s not, ‘oh I’m going to do my essay this day, this day and this day,’—it’s ‘let me do a part of my essay this day, and a part of my essay this day.’ Usually that allows me enough time for three days of editing—I usually need the same number of days [to edit] that I take to write my essay.”
Ethan Merlin, third-year student, Men’s Basketball
Ethan Merlin
“[In] high school your time management is kind of laid out for you—you’re there for the hours of the school day and then you go home and you have practice maybe, three times a week and you know when it is. Now it’s basketball everyday, and you have to get in the gym by yourself, and classes are different—you could have a two-hour break in the middle of the day. It’s easy to want to relax in the middle of that but [instead] just try and get a chapter done throughout that time.”
Valued at $5,000 per year and renewable for up to three years, the Debra Deane Little and Robert Little Academic Scholarships for Varsity Athletes is for students who combine academic excellence with athletic skill and dedication. For the 2020-2021 academic year, 31 students have been awarded this scholarship. Find the complete list of recipients below.
Congratulations to all 2020 recipients of the Debra Deane Little and Robert Little Academic Scholarships for Varsity Athletes:
First-year students
Aidan Badcock-Parks
Emma Carter
Leigha Eisan
Ethan Oderkirk
Naomi Puddicombe
Grace Rix
Mali Triger
Second-year students
Kayleigh Coco-Edman
Katherine Cook
Rebecca Dupuis
Luke Dyment
Kayleigh Garland
Sophia Harriman
Leah Hartlen
Cash Layden
Rylan Logan
Owen Porter
Third-year students
Lucy Carolan
Dara Carr
Alison Clarke
Grace Day
Larissa Dean
Ethan Merlin
Sophia Tonks
Dimitra Tsimiklis
Joshua Williams
Fourth-year students
Taryn Hanrahan
Lydia Hansen
Abigayle Hourigan
Sian Nielsen
Lindsey Puddicombe
