Imagine waking up early, going to class most of the morning and practice most of the afternoon. When you come home, physically and mentally exhausted, you eat your dinner, study, and try to maintain some sort of a social life. You'll spend many a weekend traveling in vans, and sleeping in distant hotel rooms.

Now imagine going through that routine for virtually the entire school year. Such is the life of the dual-sport athlete. And a schedule like this can be quite a balancing act.

"It's as diffucult as you make it," said Brian King, a two-sport athlete. "It's really not hard as long as you focus in on the free time and do what you have to do."

King, who spends his autumns as a free safety for the football team, has chosen to spend this spring on the track team. He said football is his "bread and butter sport," but that he missed those track-running days at Lakota High School in West Chester, Ohio.

"I wanted to get a little bit more fluid and track helps you in a lot of ways," he said. "I just wanted to try and help increase my speed."

Other athletes just can't decide which sport they like better. Jill Pearsall said field hockey and lacrosse are equally important to her.

"When I'm on hockey, I focus on hockey," she said. "There isn't one that's better than the other. If that were true, it would take away from the other sport."

Pearsall said budgeting her time is the most diffucult aspect of playing two sports. She tries to schedule early classes so she can have time to study before afternoon practice. But even a busy woman like Pearsall finds time to go roller blading and watch television.

"There are times when you've just got to put your feet up and veg out," she said.

King relaxes during football season by taking a campus run. He said there are times, however, when he just has to go someplace to be alone.

"I call my mom," King said. "That always helps too. My family is a big support."

However, athletes can find support services that are closer than their hometowns. Academic Counselor Sandy Meyer of the academic support center for student-athletes, 328 Boucke Building, said dual-sport athletes encounter the same time budgeting problems as single-sport athletes.

"You just have to balance the academics and athletics longer," she said.

Meyer added that more problems exist for athletes whose seasons overlap, than for those whose do not.

Jen Reimers (sophomore-landscape architecture) runs into that problem every year. When the volleyball season is at its peak during post-season play, Reimers endures more stress than ordinary outside hitters. In addition to juggling a final exams schedule, she has an extra hour of individualized basketball practice every day.

"This time of year I get a little worn down, sick of being in the gym," she said. But her motivation outweighs the physical strain. "I don't give up on things very easily," she added.

Playing two sports can also be physically wearing on athletes whose sports' schedules don't conflict.

"Just this year it's starting to catch up to me," said Pearsall, who played three sports at Penn Wood High School in Lansdowne. "Two sports is so much more demanding at the Division I level . . . physically and emotionally."

But that hasn't stopped her. In addition to earning All-America honors in lacrosse last year, Pearsall led the field hockey team in assists and helped them to jockey for a national title at the Final Four.

"It's not impossible," she said. "It helped me to organize my time. Hopefully, when I get out in the real world, it will help me."

Collegian sports writer Anthony F. Yacullo contributed to this article.