Life at Sora as a Competitive Swimmer

Hey there! I’m Monica and I am an 8th grade student-athlete at Sora, an online middle and high school. The life of a student-athlete is not for the weak. As a year-round competitive swimmer, being at Sora makes my life less stressful and helps me balance my time so that I don’t burn out. 

Depending on the week, I spend from 7.5 to 12 hours in the water for practice. Besides in-water practice, I do 1 to 2 hours per week of on-land workouts like weight lifting. This is a lot of training and attending a traditional in-person school, like many student-athletes do, can be a lot on someone’s plate and can negatively affect someone's education, athletic performance, and mental and physical health. 

When I was first looking for an online school, being able to play my sport was a crucial necessity. I have been swimming for about a decade and love it for so many reasons. I had no intention of stopping when changing schools. Luckily, Sora’s flexible schedule allows me to continue swimming and even gives me more time for more opportunities. As a student from the West Coast, my school day ends around 1 pm, which gives me enough time before my 5 pm swim practice to do my weight training. I also have more flexibility when it comes to travel. Many higher-ranking meets require me to travel out of town for many days at a time. Being at Sora allows me to watch the expedition recordings and finish tasks from the comfort of the hotel room without feeling like I am behind. I am so grateful that I found this school and I know that so many student-athletes out there would benefit from Sora. 

Below is a video of me swimming the 50-yard freestyle final and winning with a 24.64. I also got the state qualifying cut!