It was the first day of football practice for Donovan Gunthrie, a sophomore at CHS, and it was the first time he had ever felt truly fulfilled. During the time he spent with the Marshall Eagles, Gunthrie played as left guard for offense and defense. Although it tough at first, he eventually began to get a feel for how things worked. “My first day, I was off to myself,” said Gunthrie. “After a week or so, I kind of got into it. I made a lot of friends out of it.”

Things got off to a strong start. He worked hard to impress the coaches. Sadly, this did not last. Life was not as easy for Gunthrie after the first few weeks of practice. It was a hassle going all the way to Marshall and practicing two and a half hours before coming home. He would struggle to get a head start on his homework because he was so worn out from practice. He had to take the bus from 64th and Marion to his home on 94th and Fond du Lac.

He noticed he had problems with his grades and keeping up with assignments. He couldn’t balance school and football at the same time. “Everything just dropped,” said Guthrie.

Guthrie started to think about quitting. He felt torn between being loyal to his teammates and loyal to his own education. He felt that some of his teammates “hated” him for the decision he knew he had to make. “What had helped me was my mom. She said that academics come first and you have to do what you have to do,” he said. Currently, CHS partners with Madison and Marshall for sports. They are considered the “lead” schools for football, basketball, volleyball, tennis, track, swimming, and golf. The “lead” school hires the coaches, arranges the schedule, and hosts practices and games.

For students who attend school in the Juneau Campus, an “activity bus” takes the students to those schools everyday after school. Like Guthrie, students often do not get home until very late because of the extra travel time.

Sixty-five students took a survey on the level of interest CHS had for winter sports. Boys and girls from ninth grade through the twelfth grade participated. Of all the students surveyed, nineteen people out of the sixty-five said that they couldn’t play because it was too much of a commitment. The Bloc interviewed three students who took the survey. Ninth grader Natalie Hansen said that she was interested in volleyball and basketball. Ninth grader Tyrus Phillips said he was interested in football. Tenth grader Marion Teague said he was interested in football and swimming.

They all love playing sports. Yet, each student shared an interesting reason for not playing sports. Phillips said that he did not participate in sports because he had to take care of his younger sisters when he mom was at work. “My mom does not leave to go to work until later. For me to go to Marshall and then make it all the way back home before she leaves is impossible because my sisters would be home by themselves,” he said.

Hansen explained that she wanted to go out for sports, but some duties came up that she had to do. Her mom would not let her go to the volleyball meeting to sign up until she got her duties done. She said that if sports were at CHS all that “stuff” would be done.

Teague explained that he did not go out for sports because he would not want to play football for a school other than CHS. Even though he loves sports, “It is not enough to represent something that I am not apart of,” he said.

“I think that we will be a force to be reckoned with. People are going to know who the Juneau Campus is next year,” Teague said.