Team schedule demanding

The struggle of staying motivated to go to classes is tough for many students. Many people struggle with rolling out of bed in the morning and with doing readings for class. These battles are also difficult for many student athletes. \nMen's cross country junior runner Bart Phariss said the difficulties he faces in balancing schoolwork and participating in a varsity sport are often formidable.\nPhariss ran varsity last season for the Big Ten Championship runner-up Hoosiers. Phariss was also part of the first recruiting class for head coach Robert Chapman, made up of mostly in-state athletes. \n"Chapman had a vision. He knew he didn't need to go out of state to get the talent to win," sophomore Matt Sweetman said. \nPhariss stressed the need to come to Bloomington with his freshman class.\n"It was important to go to IU with these guys," Phariss said. \nHe also said it enabled them to progress as runners together and become friends. Phariss and his class sacrificed more money in scholarships from smaller schools to run together at IU. Because of those sacrifices, the team is becoming more successful, he said. \nThis could be attributed to the hard work put in every day, starting early in the morning, the athletes said. \n"Everybody is up at seven in the morning," Phariss said. \nThis allows them time to stretch and eat before morning practices. On average, Phariss runs 10 to 13 miles a day. \nOn Sundays, team members are up and at practice by 8 a.m., then they run about 14 to 17 miles. \nAn average week for Phariss has him running about 90 miles.\nThe reason this is tough is because of the schoolwork they have to do in addition to practice every day, team members said. \n"Most of the day is spent getting ready to run, running, getting ready for class or going to class," Phariss said. \nMany days, the team has two practices, which cuts into schoolwork time even more, athletes said.\n"Yesterday, I only had 30 minutes to myself were I wasn't doing something," Phariss said. \nPlanning ahead is important to striking a balance, Sweetman said.\n"Time management is key," Sweetman said.\nEven with all of the responsibilities that come with the cross country team, it doesn't appear that the runners seem to mind. \n"The guys do not feel as though they are making a sacrifice. They believe this is what it takes to be a successful cross-country team," Chapman said.