Balancing training with tests: my life as an elite student athlete
(Courtesy of Aaliyah Powell)
17-year-old taekwondo champion Aaliyah Powell writes about representing Team GB while taking her GCSEs.
As an elite athlete, balancing my training and my education is not always easy.
Becoming a world class athlete demands a huge commitment that can at times take over your life. It means being prepared to do whatever it takes, whether that is practising in the morning before school, attending training camps around the world or missing special occasions with family and friends when they overlap with competitions. Competing at this level requires dedication, commitment, focus and sacrifice. But keeping up with my schoolwork has always been important to me because I want to have the tools to succeed in my life after sport.
However, the balance between studying and sports is tough. Back in 2018, I qualified to compete for Team GB at the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires. I had been working all year towards my goal of competing at these Games so at the time, I was solely focused on the event. This was to the detriment of my schoolwork and I started to fall behind on my studies. With the excitement of competing at the Games and being only 15 at the time, I did not fully understand or appreciate how much this would affect me in the following year when I was due to sit my GCSEs [national exams in the U.K.]. When the time came to prepare for my exams, I discovered how difficult it is to cram years of knowledge into a few months.
(Courtesy of Aaliyah Powell)
Adding to the challenge was the fact I was unexpectedly selected to compete at the Senior World Championships in May 2019 — the same month as my GCSE exams. It was the biggest competition of my career so far and I was scheduled to compete during the biggest academic moment of my life so far. As a junior athlete, I usually competed against athletes ages 14-17, but at the Senior World Championship, I could compete against athletes of any age and any world ranking level, including World or Olympic champions.
I sat three exams in the week before my first fight and another exam the day after I had finished competing. I underestimated how difficult it would be for me to fully commit to prepare for both. I tried to revise as much as I could for my exams but I found that my training schedule often clashed. Despite these challenges, I was still able to get good results on my GCSE exams and progress to the next step of my education. This prepared me for what to expect in the future when I hopefully qualify for the Olympic Games and how I can best get ready in advance.
(Courtesy of Aaliyah Powell)
I’ve spent most of my high school years travelling around the world for competitions and training camps. I haven’t always gotten it right, but over time, I learned to be flexible and prioritise my time. I realised that I don’t have to choose between sport or education. In fact, I found that actually perseverance and commitment are transferable skills and essential to success in both sport and education.
It can be very hard when you're young because sometimes you can’t see your future beyond your sporting career and don’t understand the importance of your education. In reality, you cannot just rely on your sport as it doesn’t last forever. You need a back-up plan.
Currently, I train five days a week and do at least two sessions a day. I do college work one day a week with a tutor at the National Taekwondo Centre and work on assignments in my own time in and around my training schedule. Keeping up with my education is a lot of work, but it’s worth it. It will allow me to have more options and opportunities at any stage in my life, whether I am still doing sport or not.
Read more
