Every day after school this winter, Alec Chang goes straight to his New Trier varsity fencing practice until 6 PM. On Mondays, he goes afterwards to play for his Spike League team, and Wednesdays for Night League. Tuesdays and Thursdays find him leaving for his Vortex Volleyball Club practice at 7:30 and returning home at 10:30.

With multiple hours of sports every night, Chang is a rare example of a student-athlete taken to the extreme.

Some athletes at New Trier have times when they’re on or off season, but Chang has no time off. His fall season consists of New Trier cross country, club fencing, and club volleyball. Winter season is New Trier fencing, club volleyball, Night League, and Spike League. Spring season is time for New Trier volleyball and intramural soccer.

Even though he comes across as a “big sports guy,” Chang believes he avoids the stereotype of a “jock.”

“When I hear ‘jock,’ I think of the exact opposite of me. I consider a jock to be someone who plays football or basketball, wearing a letterman jacket with a nice military style haircut or a Justin Bieber flow,” Chang said. “I probably get this image from ‘High School Musical,’ but I feel like it’s a pretty universal idea of a jock. The sports I play are probably the least mainstream sports out there, besides bowling and bass fishing. I really wouldn’t consider anyone who fences or plays volleyball a jock.”

Throughout middle school, Chang began to find his passions for these three sports. He was introduced to fencing in fifth grade at a New Trier camp, then fenced competitively for two years. He quit during middle school, because he “didn’t enjoy it all that much and it took up a lot of time.” He took it up again freshman year and has being fencing ever since.

Chang started playing volleyball the summer before eighth grade. He said, “One of my friends asked if I wanted to do a camp and my mom basically forced me to do it. Thankfully, I loved it and decided to play club volleyball that year.” His mom also got him interested in running cross country in seventh grade.

A former soccer player, Chang found that it didn’t interest him as much as his other sports. “I never had that same passion for soccer as I did for volleyball and running, and I was never that good at it. When

I stopped playing soccer in eighth grade, I decided to continue cross country and volleyball instead.”

Often, students enter freshman year as multi-sport athletes, but eventually have to choose one sport to focus their time on, either their favorite or the one they’re best at. Not Alec. He is unable to give up any of the sports, because he enjoys playing all three of them. “I tried quitting, but every time I did, I would find that they mean too much to me.”

Though Chang can’t bring himself to quit one sport, if he had to choose only one to continue, he would pick fencing or running. He likes having individual control, and thinks that volleyball has too many variables.

“In a weird way it’s nice, because in fencing the only person or thing you can blame is yourself. No one else can change how you fence and no one else makes you better or worse,” Chang said. “Cross country and fencing are way more personal. If I had to choose, I would fence only because I would still be able to run on my own, but not competitively.”

Throughout all of the sports, Chang only has one ritual: applesauce. “I pretty much always eat an applesauce before I do anything,” Chang said. An ideal snack, they are easy to bring anywhere and aren’t too filling.

“Most of the time, I’ll just eat plain apple sauce. But sometimes I spice things up and eat an apple strawberry one. But this all depends on if my mother buys them. I recommend strawberry applesauce; it’s better than the normal kind.”

Going against the “sports guy” stereotype, Chang can’t just be defined by his athletic ability. When he’s not on the court, the strip, or the course, Chang plays trumpet in Symphonic Wind Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra at New Trier.

“It’s a completely different experience than playing sports, but it’s just as important and impactful,” Chang said. “Besides the two periods a day, we have concerts each quarter, and we are going to Italy over spring break.”

In his rare free time, Chang enjoys playing piano and guitar. “Although I am pretty bad at the two, it’s a great way to relax and make time less boring,” Chang said. “It’s also a great thing to do if I only have twenty minutes to kill.”

With fencing, volleyball, cross country, intramurals, band and orchestra, Chang doesn’t mind being busy. “Everyone says, ‘Don’t you want to have fun in your life?’ But to me, everything I do is to enjoy life. Sure partying every weekend would be fun, but it’s so much more fulfilling to win a volleyball match or run a race. The joy from fencing outweighs the joy from partying nine times out of ten. That one other time is when you get your butt kicked.”