Abdel Rodriguez tries the block the ball as it heads towards the goal during soccer practice at Southeast Career Technical Center on Aug. 26. Rodriguez is one of the many players on the team that lives across town, making travel to and from practice difficult.
Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008 | midnight
Southeast Career and Technical Academy soccer player Jose Guiza knows just how difficult it can be to balance athletics with academics.
The senior midfielder, who lives near downtown Las Vegas, wakes up at 5 a.m. to take a weary-eyed bus ride to the Southeast Las Vegas vocational school.
Classes last from 6:20 a.m. to noon followed by about two hours of study hall where Guiza has to get all of his homework done before practice.
He gets home from practice around 5:30 p.m., but the day doesn't always end there. Some evenings he goes straight to his part-time job in retail.
"If I don't have a game or have to go to work, when I get home from practice at 5:30 I'll go straight to sleep," Guiza said.
Guiza story is common among Tech's athletes
"I commend all of the guys who put in 12-hour days for our team," Tech soccer coach Josh Jones said. "One of the biggest challenges is getting kids to practice in the summer. Obviously they can't all walk or ride their bikes to practice so they have to work together."
Tech's boys soccer program has made the playoffs six of the last nine years, making it one of the most successful sports at the school.
Other sports, such as volleyball, baseball and boys basketball, have had trouble recruiting dedicated athletes.
Girls tennis coach John Marshal said the time sacrifice makes some students hesitant to join sports programs.
"They do what they have to do, but it makes for a long day," Marshal said. "I think with some kids the amount of time a they would have to travel keeps them from coming out for the team. There were a lot of people who missed our first week of practices because the bus service wasn't running yet."
Most students at the school don't get excited about sports, girls volleyball coach Emily Herrin said.
Herrin, who is in her second year as coach, cut the varsity team to eight girls.
"If someone is a really good athlete, they're going to stay at their home," Herrin said. "I've been working hard to build up volleyball here and make it more of a learning experience for our players."
Sleep has scarce for junior Kayla Rozwadowski since she began volleyball practice in August.
Rozwadowski wakes up at 4:30 a.m. during the school year and takes two buses to get home each day, yet she said it's worth it to play.
"I enjoy the team and I like being active," she said. "It gives me something to do so I can take my mind off of school."
Tech draws students from across the Las Vegas Valley, which can put its teams at a competitive disadvantage.
"It's an extra challenge for our team," Guiza said. "For kids who go to the zone schools, they are playing with all their friends or players they have played with in leagues. We come from all other the city, so we have to get used to playing with each other."
Jones estimated 75 percent of the soccer team lives outside of Southeast Las Vegas.
The coach holds daily study halls for the soccer players to help them keep the required 2.0 grade point average.
While the day may be longer, midfielder Santiago Corona said being at school all day is tolerable during the soccer season.
"During the season it feels like a short day, just because our dedication to soccer makes it fun," said Corona, a Silverado Ranch resident. "At times all of the travel can be a problem. It can take up extra time and money. Gas prices are also a problem when you're traveling so much."
Sean Ammerman is a reporter for the Home News. He can be reached at 990-2661 or [email protected].
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy