JACK Simmons reached a major crossroads midway through the year.
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Jack, 18, had to decide whether he was going to continue training with the Newcastle Jets' A-League side for the last four matches of the season, or finish year 12 and train full-time with the youth team.
"It was certainly hard because I wanted to play and [coach] Carl said I was not guaranteed minutes, but I was a fair chance of getting on the field," Jack said.
"But it was not worth throwing away my schooling after 13 years for four games.
"I had to look at the big picture.
"It was a weight off my shoulders that I could just focus on one thing."
Year 12 students will start their Higher School Certificate exams on October 20.
COVID-19 and remote learning has disrupted the cohort's final year and thrown into disarray plans for graduations and formals.
Elite athletes - such as St Francis Xavier's College Hamilton's Jack and surfer Amelie Bourke - have also had to juggle their studies with training.
Jack had been training with the youth team four times a week and playing on weekends.
Amelie has been surfing every day and with a coach once a week, plus training at the gym three times a week.
Both said while balancing sport with their studies had forced them to be disciplined and efficient with time, it had also provided stress relief.
Keeping physically fit, they said, kept them mentally fit.
"It gives me a release from school and stress and everything," Amelie, 17, said.
"You think 'I can worry about that once I'm back on land'."
But sometimes it helped crystallise content.
"I go over schoolwork... and it just pops up in my mind and I can think more clearly."
She surfs in the morning before studying, returning to the ocean and then doing more revision.
Jack has been studying during school hours, before seeing friends or having a kick before dinner and further study.
"Once you've been studying for a few hours it's good to get out and release a bit of energy," he said.
"It clears my mind. I also felt more productive... I used to train, come home, do study and feel like I'd completed the day."
Both said they are feeling confident ahead of exams.
"Leading up to it I'm going to be a bit anxious but I've got a great support network around me with my mum, girlfriend and two older sisters," Jack said.
"They also want me to succeed and I'm very grateful for them.
"For me [the HSC] is not essential but it's good to have a Plan B.
"I'm trying my hardest to do my best."
Amelie said she tried to avoid stress.
"I'm just going to prepare myself and be ready for it."
She had been selected to compete in the Australian Junior Surfing Titles, which have been cancelled.
She hopes to be able to surf around Australia next year in the WSL Junior Qualifying Series and eventually be a professional athlete, but has also applied to study marine biology, earth science and sports science.
Jack has a year left on his Jets contract and will focus on it full time after the HSC.
He has also applied to study construction management and primary school teaching.
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