imeverywoman Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 (edited) My son is up by 5:30am, and we are out the door by 6:30am. We're back home by 8:30 ish, eating breakfast, and trying to begin our day by 9am. I am finding, however, that my 16yods is EXHAUSTED by noontime, requiring a good 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon. Is this typical? I am wondering how early morning athletes, especially swimmers, handle the demands of their practice schedule. If you can give me some idea of the amount of sleep vs. the amount of study time your kids put in, I would be so appreciative. :) Thanks....:bigear: Edited May 3, 2011 by imeverywoman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaT Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 I have an 11yo gymnast who is out of the house 6 hours a day (including travel time) for training. She gets up at 6:00, starts school at 7:00, eats lunch at 11:00, and is out the door by 11:30. That gives her four hours to do school in the a.m. Thank goodness she is my most focused schooler. When she gets home she takes a shower, eats her dinner, and works for another 1 1/2 to 2 hours. It is about 9:00 by that time and she goes to bed at 10:00. She has to have that hour to wind down and relax. That only gives her 8 hours of sleep a night, which I know is not enough for her age. I am trying to decide if we will continue at our gym next year if the schedule stays the same. It is just too hard - even though she has never once complained. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 My older son was back in private school as we went through much of this. He tells me that he did fall asleep in class occasionally. What we did was opt out of morning swims. He just couldn't do it. Education first and all that. I know other kids who did morning swim all the way through school but they were in bed by 8 at night. Extra nutrition, extra protein, etc. helps with the fatigue, too.... Now at college, my son still swims and during swim season does come back to his room and take afternoon naps because he does have to do morning practices (although they're not quite as early as those in high school). There's no stigma because most of the kids on campus also do it. Something's got to give. They need a certain amount of sleep and all stay up way too late, so they have to sleep sometimes during the day.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnitaMcC Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 My DD (just turned 16yr old) trains/competes in martial arts. Her schedule looks like this... Monday... 9am: Wake up. 10am to 1pm: School. 1pm to 1:45pm: Lunch. 2pm to 4pm: Chiropractor and music lessons. 4:45pm to 7:45: Kung Fu. 11pm: Bed Tuesday... 9am: Wake up. 10am to 12pm: School. 12pm to 1pm: Lunch. 1pm to 4pm: School. 5:30pm to 8:30pm: Kung Fu. 11pm: Bed Wednesday... 9am: Wake up. 10am to 12pm: School. 12pm to 1pm: Lunch. 1pm to 4pm: School. 5pm to 10pm: Band practice (includes the hour drive there and hour drive home). Thursday... 9am: Wake up. 10am to 11:30 am: School. 12pm to 3pm: Teen Group. 4:45pm to 8:15pm: Kung Fu 11pm: Bed. Friday... 9am: Wake up. 10am to 12pm: School. 12pm to 1pm: Lunch. 1pm to 4pm: School. 5:45pm to 7pm: Kung Fu. Saturdays and Sundays vary but she often has band practice one of those days that last about 5 hours (includes travel time) and about 2 times a month she goes into Chicago for Wushu Kung Fu training (about 6 hours including travel time) and about once every 6 weeks she has a tournament. When she needs to get more school work done, she squeezes it in where she has time (often before going to bed and does work on weekends). She does very well getting her work done efficiently. She struggles with going to sleep and she is a night owl. Going to bed earlier and getting up earlier does not work for her at all and she functions much much better on this schedule. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelBee Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 My kids are competitive dancers, so it can be crazy around here. :) I own the academy they train at, so that complicates things at times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Naps are great. When we got to college, all the swimmers napped. Taps was at 11:30, lights out at 12:30, morning practice at 5:30 - can you say not enough sleep? We napped in every free moment! I did doubles in high school too, without naps, but we got to sleep around 9 instead of midnight. I remember reading an article in the USA swimming magazine several years ago about a swimmer who homeschooled so she could work out with the local college and nap every afternoon. Dds only do doubles only occasionally because of the sleep issue. Dd(14) needs 12 hours a day, but has a hard time napping. You can't sleep 9 to 9 if you have to get up for 6am practice. Most of the kids on our team can't handle doubles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imeverywoman Posted May 4, 2011 Author Share Posted May 4, 2011 not pertain to me :) that there was a homeschooled student who went to practice at 5am ish, returned home to sleep for several hours, and then completed their studies. Funny how that stuck with me long before we would ever need it! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 We only swam doubles during Christmas break. On our regular schedule our older kids swam 5 nights a week...2-3 hours each night. We were home at night by 9 ...they were in bed by 11...and would sleep until 7 or 8. Anyway, we are no longer swimming be ause of ds's illness, dd decided it was too much work and she really wasn't into it... The little guys don't swim as of yet...and I am not going to encourage it. The competitive sports schedule was too much for me...let alone them. Faithe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolly Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 (edited) We live an hour away from the pool. Makes things really interesting. In some ways it is better because the coach allows them to swim mornings in our town on their own. Since we homeschool, they can do it a bit later than the team. :)I do take them for one morning practice a week with the team. Next year is going to be super tough academically, so we are going to have the coach let us know which particular morning practices they need to attend with the team. (For example, this morning they did resistance training that requires special equipment in the pool.) They will only go to those morning practices next year. For a regular, just swim, practice; they will stay near the house for mornings. M+F (coach emails practice/swim on their own 2 minutes from our house a.m.)Morning practice 7-8:30, quick breakfast then school from 9-3, leave for pool 3:15 (snack in the car), night practice 4:30-7, quick snack in the car, dinner 8:30, homework, bed asap. T+H school 8-3; leave for swim practice 3:15; follow same schedule as above for afternoon W Out the door by 4:30 a.m., breakfast in car, practice 5:30-7, second breakfast in car, home around 8:30; nap until 11; lunch; school 11:30-3; same schedule as other afternoons. Sat. Out of house by 6:15; breakfast in car; practice 7:30-10; brunch on way home (usually Waffle House); free to do whatever they want which varies greatly but usually includes a nap. Summer schedule....I don't even want to think about it. Double practices with the team almost every day...That means leaving the house at 5:30, practice 6:30-9:30 a.m./get home 10:45 (if they get out of the locker room quickly!!!) every day; Leave the house 1:45; night practice 3-5:30; back home around 6:45 MWF. They usually nap between the double practices. Edited May 4, 2011 by Lolly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjbucks1 Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 My kids have practice from 4:30 to 7:00 each night. Thankfully, we only live about 20-25 minutes from the pool. My ds is up by 7:00, starting school by 7:30, takes a 1/2 hour lunch, and we leave for swim at 3:50 (ds does school the entire day). We don't get home until about 7:45, eat dinner, and bed time is at 9:30. Ds has had some trouble getting school work done this year, but he just has to work on the weekend (when we don't have a meet!). But, ds really loves swimming, so he is willing to put in the work :). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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