Andrea,
I teach a middle school study skills class that usually has several athletes. The secret is in the efficient management of personal time. Typical athletic practices take up 2 1/2 hours of the afternoon and evening, including travel time and preparation. The rest of your time must be carefully planned out and tasks must be prioritized. And most importantly; school comes first. The best athlete at school will never see the field or court if he doesn't keep his grades up.

for some its different but for me i just manage to tell myself "if i dont do this assignment how far will i go with athletics".....and that motivates me to get it done no matter what.

focus, focus, focus! This is my way of always get jobs done look at the problem head on and tackle it quick so to free you up for the next thing life throws at you.

cool, i just always do my homework first then go to practice since its not till at night. And if i dont finish then i stay home and finish, just call my coacha nd let him know ill be late because i have homework to do.

Andrea,
I currrently play division 2 basketball at Clark Atlanta University and in our program players are required to do 6 hours of there own personal study time in the athltes Academic Achievment Computer Lab... Also along with that the team has its own study hall for an hour on Tuesdays and Thursdays... So this allows us an adequate amount of time to keep with schoolwork... And just to add something else in high school we had a 2 hour study hall so it's not just college

It's easy for me, it just comes natural so i wouldn't really know how to explain it that well. I can say that it takes a lot of effort to keep your grades up and play sports

As a parent it's important that we establish homework as the priority at an early age. My kid is a 5th grader and has no problem skipping practice if it where up to him, but since it's not -he knows that the first thing he must get done is his homework because we're going to hit the gym in the evening ( what ever homework he doesn't complete before practice must be completed after practice). His relax time is after homework and gym time so it's up to him how much "relax" time he get before bedtime.