Many students may be stressing out this time of year with school, jobs and other after-school activities. But before you complain, think about sophomore Maureen Schick, who is playing TWO varsity sports this fall season.

Although two varsity sports seem stressful to some, Schick says she manages with support from family and friends.

“It can be a bit difficult at some points trying to manage my time between school, sports, family and friends, but I have so much support from everyone, and my teachers are very understanding!” she said.

Schick is playing varsity volleyball and varsity tennis this season. She had to be given permission to play two varsity sports in one season.

“My parents and I talked to the WIAA as well as the FRCC athletic directors last year, but no official policy was given until this year when it was decided I would be given the opportunity to play both sports,” she explained.

Besides volleyball and tennis, Schick is also involved in ASTRA, the Outreach Branch of student government, and she is starting to work at St. Vincent’s Hospital on the weekends. With practices after school, Schick is thankful meetings for ASTRA and student government are before school, so she can always make them.

When she isn’t at school, a meeting, practice, or match, Schick enjoys hanging out with her teams or friends and “going to the mall, pool, or a movie.”

Schick’s love of volleyball and tennis began at a young age. “I started playing tennis first when I was about eight or nine years old,” she said. “My sisters and brother played, and of course I wanted to be just like them, so I started to play and soon fell in love with it.”

Schick began volleyball in middle school. “I was in fifth grade when I first started playing volleyball. My sister’s team would practice after school, and I would have to wait for them,” she said. “One day, I got bored and started hitting against the wall, and soon after that, I fell completely in love with the game.”

Schick has different reasons for loving each sport. “For tennis, I love the competition and the feeling of pulling out a close match,” she said. “I love the energy and camaraderie, especially in doubles, and it has been so much fun working with my partner Claire Rotherham and seeing how our hard work leads us to success.”

“For volleyball, I love that fire, intensity, excitement and passion that goes into the game. We not only play for ourselves, but we play for each other, and we have been stressing that all season,” she said. “We are all not only teammates on the court, but we are friends off of it, too. I can’t even put into words the feeling you get when you see all your hard work pay off in the end–it’s incredible.”

Schick hopes to extend her love that began at Holy Family Elementary and Middle School to the collegiate level. “As of right now, I would love to play college volleyball, and I have actually started to explore my options to continue to play both volleyball and tennis at the collegiate level,” she said.