Day In The Life of An Athlete -Volleyball Edition

Have you ever wonder what everyone’s daily routine is? What they eat? What’s the first thing they do when they wake up? What they do on their free time? Well everyone has their own daily routine. But Athletes have it harder to manage their time with games and practices. Different Sports required different skills or diets. Everyone manages their time differently. This how Chariel Joy says she manages her time everyday:

Gallery • 10 Photos

Spending time with Family

         “Hey! I’m Chariel Cabrera but some know me by CJ. Junior and I play for our 2019-2020 school year. I’m happy to be part of our school’s volleyball program for another year and absolutely love getting to experience more things with my teammates and coaches. Our PVHS Girls and Boys Volleyball program is the best. Our Coaches are very exposed to the sport and have experience so it’s cool getting to absorb what they’re willing to teach us. Being a part of a team means you include everyone. It also creates strong friendships that hopefully carry on for a long time. You bounce off one another and learn from your teammates which I think is crucial when playing a team-based sport.  All of our coaches not only teach us on the court but also off the court, modeling us to reach our fullest potential as young adults. They expect us to perform great in school and in life. Even in club volleyball, which I did after my season with PV last year, the exposure to going to many different cities and playing dozens of teams really adds to the experience and the memories. The chemistry building with the other girls is also something I enjoy because making new friends is always a nice thing especially when they love the same sport you do.                       Every student athlete spends their days differently but the ethic in it all is the same. My advice to other fellow scholar athletes is to strive to be positive, be that light for your team, be supportive, stay focused in and out of school, mange your time well, and show pride in what you do! Represent our school and community well! Cheers.”

DIET: “I don’t have a specific diet for volleyball but I try not to eat heavily before practices and games. After our weights I always try to eat healthy as well and drink lots of water.”

Schedule: “During a normal week, our varsity team has practices every Monday, Wednesday and Fridays since our game days are mostly Tuesdays and Thursdays. During our practices we range from conditioning, fundamentals, skills, offensive, and defensive drills. It always depends on the day and who our competition is the following days. When it comes to work outs in or outside the weight room, I like doing abs and squats. During the summer we had Mr. Magni conducting our weights but during school we have Coach Montero and Coach Katie helping us out. Our goals are always maintaining and building strength.”

Game Day Accessories: “On game days I always bring: consist of money, my hydro flask, hair ties, scrunchies, lotion, knee pads, a hair brush, deodorants, warm-up clothing, Birkenstock, spandex, my Jersey, court shoes, and Nike socks.”

Time Management: “Learning how to fit sports into my schedule was a lot of prioritizing and time management. Education comes first so I keep that in my mind when doing work for my classes. Making time for family and friends is also a key part of my schedule and sometimes practices take up that time but it’s okay! As a scholar athlete, that’s what you should expect: sacrifices.”

Make-up work: “I try to ask all my teachers if I’m going to miss anything important and I always have a friend or two in all my classes that I can ask about what we went over that day. It helps a lot and I always return the favor when they too leave cause of their sport or other activities.”

Free Time: “In my free time I like to relax and watch movies. I love classic 90s films, romcoms, and action movies best. Tiktok makes up a good portion of my free time as well but I also try to do a little self-care like putting on face masks or painting. When it’s not a day at home, I like to go out even if it’s to run errands with my mom.”

Hobbies: “Outside of volleyball, I like to travel. Traveling is nice even if it’s not far away. So far I’ve been to Washington State, Oregon, Hawii, Nevada, the Philippines and of course going up and down California. I love going to the beach and spending time with my best friend and my family too!”

Favorite places to go eat at: “I like to go eat at North China, Sizzling Gogi, Olive Garden, and other places but we often cook at home. With friends we go to La Picosita, IHOP, Blenders, Chick Fil-A, Cha 101, and all those other fast food or good atmosphere eateries.”

Motivation: “Some of my main motivatios ivolve my dad. My dad is my number one fan and he always wants me to get better. He goes to all my games and supports me in everything I do. The majority of my friends play volleyball or enjoy volleyball as well so that also motivates me. Just wanting to play at my best or at least get to my potential always pushes me.”