My friends were at the football game.
I was on my way to a bowling tournament.
That was a lot of my high school weekends. Parties I missed. Games I didn’t see. Weekends my friends spent together while I spent mine on the lanes.
I chose that. Every time.
But the sacrifice isn’t the part I want to talk about. The part I want to talk about is a lie. One I hear student-athletes tell themselves all the time.
That balance means doing everything, all at once, all the way.
It doesn’t.
I think about it like baskets. School is a basket. Bowling is a basket. Work, family, friends. Those are baskets too.
When you put too much into one basket, you stop balancing. Everything else starts to tip.
Balance isn’t keeping every basket perfectly even. It’s making sure you can excel at every responsibility you’re carrying.
And that means some baskets get filled first.
For me, that was school.
I competed at the highest level while I was a student, and school always came first. Not because bowling didn’t matter. Because I understood I had one shot at my education, and I wanted to do it well.
So I worked hard. I was conscientious. I knew what I needed to do, and I did it. I didn’t procrastinate.
That’s not glamorous. It’s just true.
Once I had a good handle on school, then I put more into my bowling basket. Not before.
You are more than a bowler. You’re a student. A friend. A teammate. A son or daughter. Every one of those roles deserves your best, and none of them get it if one basket swallows the rest.
So here’s my honest advice if you feel pulled in every direction.
Prioritize school. When you have a good handle on it, pour more into bowling.
Get great at time management. Not good. Great.
And put your phone down.
I mean it. I am so happy I went through school at a time when there weren’t cell phones distracting me. When I sat down to study, I studied. When I went to practice, I practiced. One thing at a time.
You don’t get that for free anymore. You have to create it. Phone in another room. Notifications off. Focus on the one thing in front of you.
Because balance was never about a perfect split.
It’s about order.
Know what comes first. Take care of it. Then build from there.
So, which basket are you overfilling right now?
If you’re a student-athlete learning to carry it all, 12 Frames to a Stronger Mental Game is private 1:1 mental game coaching built to help you show up strong on the lanes and off them. Learn more at beyondthelanes.com/12-frames.