How to balance schoolwork and sports like a pro (a practical guide by Liezel van der Westhuizen)

Zain Johnson, standing in for 702 and CapeTalk's Africa Melane, speaks to fitness presenter Liezel van der Westhuizen.

Listen below:

Research shows that the biggest challenges for kids balancing sport, school and homework are:

• time constraints;
• mental fatigue;
• cognitive overload;
• sacrificing social time, which might affect emotional development;
• pressure to win from themselves and their parents.

Balance books and ball like a pro with Van der Westhuizen's tips:

• Eat well and mindfully - eating while rushing doesn't give your body time to digest.
• Use digital planners to manage homework and sports cycles about two weeks in advance.
• Build small time windows for relaxation and downtime between activities to avoid activity overlap. 
• Sleep is a non-negotiable for cognitive and physical recovery.
• Ensure recovery days are scheduled and that kids enjoy mental downtime, spending time walking the dog, journaling or doing things away from screens.
• Celebrate the small wins and do daily mindful exercises. 
• Pay attention to signs of stress such as frustration, increased irritability, chronic fatigue, tummy aches and headaches in your teens, which might be pointing to exhaustion from an overwhelming amount of training and balancing school-sport life.

Most importantly, fun should be prioritised, says Van der Westhuizen.

"The question is: did you have fun? And that's important."

- Liezel van der Westhuizen

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the full conversation.