A Balancing Act: How Three Marist University Students Manage Being Athletes and Musicians

Zak Schwarz '26 is still an active member of the band, despite a busy rowing and academic schedule. Photo by Victoria Cisternino '26

Imagine you are a music student at Marist University. Throughout your week, in addition to academic classes, you have a private piano lesson, a select choir rehearsal and a main choir rehearsal. After all of that, you sing for almost two hours on a Tuesday or Thursday night, and at nearly 8:00 p.m., you have to pack up your bag and head over to McCann for soccer practice that will last until midnight. 

This is the routine of Catherine Rezza ‘25, an education major who’s been involved in both the music program and the club soccer team for most of her time at Marist. Rezza, along with a surprising number of students, balances being an athlete with involvement in the music ensembles on campus. 

Rezza has been playing soccer since she was four, and has been involved with music since she was seven. While these have always been passions of hers, she wasn’t planning on continuing either when she got to Marist. After joining the Marist Singers in the spring of her freshman year and being a part of the inaugural women’s club soccer team her sophomore year, Rezza realized it was going to be a balancing act. 

“In college, it’s been a lot of juggling,” she said. “In the fall, I will try to prioritize soccer because I know that’s the season, and in the spring, conversely, I’ll try to prioritize Singers when I can.”

Rezza isn’t alone in the musician-athlete circle. Zakary Schwarz ‘26, a student majoring in psychology and minoring in music and political science, is a valued member of the men’s rowing team, as well as a percussionist in the Marist band. His day starts at 5:00 a.m. to attend rowing practice, and he stays out of the house until 11:00 p.m. if soccer practice is scheduled for the same night. For his three years at Marist, his schedule has been fairly packed, as he has been involved in both rowing and band since his freshman year.

“I’m a little bit of an overachiever, I do too much sometimes, so I was in percussion ensemble, drumline, I do symphonic [band], marching [band], pep band, all of the things on top of my major and having a minor,” he said. This year, though, to find balance, he found himself not committing as much to all of the music ensembles. 

“The honest answer is just to do less,” he said. “I’m not in percussion ensemble and drumline this semester because I have a class. But my day is so much more bearable now. I think that I’ll probably continue doing a little less and committing more to the things I do instead of spreading myself too thin and burning the candle at both ends.”

Kailey Levinson ‘25, a business major also minoring in music, has just entered the realm of balancing athletics and music while in college. Throughout most of her life, Levinson has been incredibly involved in both music and volleyball; however, coming to college changed that. She ended up pursuing music primarily, but in her senior year, she decided to return to the sport she loved.

“I joined late, only this year, because last year I had too many time conflicts with music,” she said. “However, the team truly did welcome me with open arms, and all of the girls are truly supportive and understanding.” 

Time conflicts are a recurring theme for students trying to balance being a musician and an athlete. During the football season, Schwarz stated that he has never been able to arrive on time to perform musically due to the time required for races or long practices. Rezza has had to miss Family Weekend performances every year because of his away soccer games, and Levinson has had to miss competitions to perform in shows. As expressed by all these athletes, sacrificing certain events for the sake of both music and athletics is part of the balance. 

“It is not an easy task to balance the two, as I often have to commit to one more than the other,” Levinson said. “Many nights, I will show up to a cappella rehearsal all sweaty after running from practice, and often I have to miss volleyball tournaments to be on campus for music commitments.”

Pursuing music and athletics both provide a sense of community, even though they involve two distinct groups of people. At times, it may seem that there are significant differences between a group of men on a rowing team and a group of musicians, but Schwarz appreciates the various social circles.

“The rowing team is a group of 40 guys. And then I come to the music department, and it's a lot more diverse in terms of gender and backgrounds. I think it’s cool that I get to experience all of that,” Schwarz said.

Levinson also discussed the difference in social environments, stating, “With volleyball, we truly need to trust one another and be communicative on and off the court. With singers, we do not have the ability to talk and interact much during rehearsals, so the majority of the social circle interactions occur outside of rehearsals.”

According to the students, there is some overlap in skills used in both music and sports. Communication and teamwork are the most obvious key skills, but according to Rezza and Schwarz, skills learned through being a musician have had a positive impact on their athletic performance. 

Schwarz, as a percussionist, said that his rowing is consistent due to his sense of rhythm. Having rowed with other musicians before, he said, “All the best rowers I know have done music at some point in their lives.” 

Additionally, Rezza utilizes her breathwork training from singing to maintain a consistent breathing level while training for games. “I find that if I’m running, and I try to match up my breathing with whatever song I’m listening to, it’ll be easier for me.”

These students are examples that if you choose to do work for it, you can balance things as different as music and athletics. Their advice? All of them stressed the importance of priorities. 

“Get your priorities straight early, and remember you’re a student first. It’s very easy to be sucked into whatever you’re doing outside of school and forget that you’re here to learn,” said Schwarz. 

So, the next time you watch a rowing race and see someone keeping an excellent pace, maybe they’re a percussionist, or if you see someone on the soccer field seeming like they’re not out of breath, maybe they’re a singer. It’s more likely than you think.