Overcoming Stress of Athletics and Academics

     Tyler Mondock as an upcoming senior knows how to manage his academics with athletics while still having fun. He has maintained above a 4.0 GPA his entire high school career, as well as taking part in several sports. Tyler plays golf, basketball, volleyball, and runs track, but on top of this he has taken several AP classes through the course of high school keeping him at the top of his class consistently. 

      When asked how he balances his athletics with academics Tyler said, “I use my free time after practices and weekends and put them toward my classes.” Tyler is currently in AP: Human Geography, Chemistry, Lang, as well as challenging math classes and physics. He only has one free set, so time set aside outside of class is very important to him. Tyler’s most challenging class is AP Chemistry. He enjoyed chemistry as a sophomore, so he was very interested in it this year. He highlights, “The challenge of the class is very amusing to me.” It’s important for each student to find what they enjoy and then follow that enjoyment, Tyler’s is AP Chemistry.

     Some students may look at Tyler’s schedule and think that that is overwhelming and too busy, but he describes it as, “Just sitting around isn’t my thing, so it is entertaining to always have sports throughout the year so I never get bored.” Tyler also goes on to say, “I only become overwhelmed when I procrastinate on my work. When this does happen I just set extra time aside to complete that assignment. It never really gets to be so much that I am too bothered by doing everything.” Tyler has a dedication and extremely rare work ethic that makes him special.  Most students can’t handle this much schoolwork on top of athletics, but Tyler is a great example on how to cope with it.

     Although Tyler takes very challenging classes he’s yet to regret taking a class or taking multiple challenging classes. He says, “I don’t regret taking hard classes because I have learned a lot from them and had a quality experience with each class.” The student body should take into consideration that while these classes are very challenging and you might not always get the grade you want, you will still learn and grow from these classes. Tyler Mondock can attest to that, and upcoming students should look up to him and his work ethic.

     Each individual has a factor that motivated them through stressful times, Tyler’s is his brother, Connor Mondock. Connor, much like Tyler was gifted academically and athletically, but his work ethic set him apart from others. Tyler says, “Getting better at my athletics and academics is the main reason that motivates me. My brother Connor was also very athletic and smart, so I strive to be like him. Also the rest of my family attended Pittsburgh University, and I want to have the option to attend Pitt as well.” Tyler wants the student body to know that having someone who motivates you is very important, but not necessary. As long as you are able to hold yourself accountable and are willing to sacrifice your time, you will be fine. 

     While Tyler looks up to his brother for motivation, he says his dad is his mentor. Tyler says his dad played a lot of sports in high school, his father told him, “Dont regret seeing if you were good at something. This made me want to try a lot of sports, and I’ve stuck with the ones I enjoy.” Connor is studying engineering at Pitt and Tyler wants to follow in his footsteps and become an engineer as well. He knows to achieve this goal he must work extremely hard to maintain a high GPA while still retaining most of the information he takes in. 

Tyler has had a very successful high school career, he’s done it all. He wants the upcoming students to know that, “Take classes that you think you will enjoy, even if they may be challenging. This will make participation in your sport season not as hard.” The incoming students should take Tyler Mondock’s work ethic and use this as a guide for their high school career.