New Trier Athletics has a  strong competitive reputation with over 120 state championships under its belt.

However, this reputation has student athletes feeling pressure to

give 110%, often prioritizing athletics over homework, sleep, and health.

Some New Trier sports, such as track and field, have very strict participation policies that make athletes feel pressure to come to school when sick.

Senior and varsity track and field sprinter Kate Holly said, “Due to the attendance contract, we can only miss 10 practices in the whole season (Feb-May), so you have to choose carefully which ones you miss.” This contract makes track and field runners  strategize how many days they can allow themselves to be sick.

The must take into consideration other reasons they might have to miss practice, such as doctor’s appointments or family responsibilities. This creates a, “fight through the pain mentality,” Holly said.

Track and field athletes are not the only New Trier athletes who feel pressure to come to school when sick. Jenn Kirby, a junior on the varsity field hockey team, explained, “We had a big game coming up so I went to school for two days with a 102 degree fever.”

According to New Trier Nurse Colleen Sheridan, there are no specific guidelines for students considering staying at home sick, but the health staff, “strongly encourage any student with a temperature of 101 degrees or over to stay home.”

However, some students are coming to school anyway. Junior swimmer Grace Rogers agreed, “I have jeopardized my health for swimming. I’ve been sick a couple times but I wasn’t able to miss practice. I made myself more sick by going to practice instead of getting better.”

Sheridan understands this conflict student athletes have and suggested that, “If you’re really sick, I represent health, I think you should stay home and not participate in your game.”

“But, if you’re marginally sick, and can be very good about taking care of themselves so that they’re not infecting someone else, I can understand where students can participate. It makes sense.”

Not only do students stay at school sick to attend games and practices, but they often feel pressure from coaches to come to school even if they are ill.

Senior and varsity softball player Gillian Gossard explained, “If it’s a big game and you usually play then the coaches tell us that we need to be at practice. In softball, only nine players can play in the field at once and normally they are the same nine every game. So, if you are one of the nine and you miss practice, you throw everyone off and it makes our coaches stressed.”

Head Varsity football coach Brian Doll explained that deciding if a player can play or not is tough, “Some players lose starting spots, and it is common for a player out to get behind. It’s fair to the team that the players who are prepared have the opportunity to play.”

Girls varsity badminton coach and Assistant Athletic Director Deborah Ofcky added that it is important to consider the entire team when making these decisions.

“Say you are sick and you play doubles, now I have to figure out what I’m going to do with [the sick student’s] partner. We want to reward the students who were at practice with playing time. If you’re home sick, obviously we don’t know if you’ll be better in time. Then I have to decide if it’s fair for the kid who is there to not play.”

Athletes also feel pressure from New Trier’s reputation to come to practice injured or sick. Junior and varsity soccer player Nicole Kaspi said, “NTGS has won three state

championships in a row. It’s not an easy thing to do and it requires an intense amount of time and work to get there. It’s a lot of pressure having that reputation. I feel I’d be letting my team down if I missed practice.”

Senior and varsity gymnast Ally Smith agreed, “Gymnastics isn’t one of New Trier’s most decorated sports but we’re getting a lot of new talent this year from the freshman and

sophomore classes. With the new talent, there’s a lot of pressure to do better in competition than we have done before.”

Smith continued, “New Trier tries to emphasize academics first and then athletics, but it is very hard to think of it that way with our demanding schedule and pressure to perform at our best ability athletically.”

Many coaches agree that they want athletes who are dedicated to the team. Ofcky explained, “In the end, I want kids on my team to prioritize being at practice and they’re the kids that get to play. It’s tough, and sometimes the student might not think it’s fair but we’re treating everyone the same.”