Many students do not understand the rigor of being a competitive athlete, but Zara Grifith ‘26 certainly does understand. Grifith plays basketball every day of the week with her team, including at least two hours each day on Saturday and Sunday in games. Outside of working with her team, she finds time in her schedule to work on shooting and ball handling on her own. While Grifith sounds like she has more than enough on her plate, she also takes honors and AP classes to maintain a high GPA. 

So how does Grifith do it? Her answer is:  “Balancing both basketball and school work is a challenge. I try to get in my basketball by playing early in the morning before school starts and whenever I can find an empty gym during my free period. I play when I get home from school, even if it’s just 30 minutes. I stay up late to get my school work finished. I do homework on Saturdays and not just Sundays, or else I can’t get it all done.”

The key for Grifith is time management. This is the struggle of being a student-athlete. Time management can be overwhelming and exhausting but dedication and motivation for the future is key to staying on course. A lot of student-athletes might have a hard time keeping up with academics while working hard in their sports. Grifith does this through her love for the game of basketball and her commitment in school.  

Grifith’s motivation for being a great student and basketball player is because her dream is to “play at an academically strong school that has a strong basketball program.”  She also has a strong love for the sport because of her love for competition, her teammates and coaches. “I wish I could play all day, every day, without interruption.”

Not only does Grifith excel in school and basketball, she also keeps busy in extracurriculars. “I am also part of Student Government, a part of the National Junior Honor Society and am Eagle Ambassador. Outside of school, I am a member of the leadership council for Duval Co+Lab, which is part of Drug Free Duval, and I was selected to participate in Youth Leadership Jacksonville this year.” Grifith participates in these extracurricular clubs and organizations to stay well-rounded.  She is an excellent example of a student-athlete wanting to thrive in academics and her sport. 

You can catch Grifith starting on the girls’ Varsity Episcopal basketball team or traveling throughout the country with her Blue Heat 2026 national team.

Image courtesy of Zara Grifith ’26.