Harvard athletes find little time to spare after more than 20 hours of weekly practice, plus time spent using their hard-earned skills playing intercollegiate games.

But where the time really evaporates is off the playing field.

Between workouts and weight-lifting, locker room meetings and training room time, equipment maintenance and treks across the river, athletes say they devote an average of 30 hours a week to their sports in season.

Add frequent road trips and general exhaustion into the equation and another student might begin to understand what it means to play a varsity sport at Harvard, athletes say.

To excel academically, athletes must somehow find time to read, complete problem sets and write papers. Too often, they say, people assume that they don't bother.

"It's an issue of efficiency," says football captain Kinney. "Your time is dictated by your practice schedule. It's definitely exhausting, but if you use your time efficiently, there should be more than enough."

Prioritizing goals and strict organization are key, say others.

"Sometimes there will be two major things at the same time, like finals and a big invitational," says swimmer Alpert. "You just have to get your work done earlier in order to do both."

Football running-back Kweli P. Thompson '96, a chemistry concentrator, says self-control is also crucial to an academic athlete.

"I had a test on the Monday after the weekend of the Yale game, and that was mainly a matter of discipline," he says.

Many athletes are forced to make time to study, a task which involves unconventional methods and means.

Some study on the bus and at hotels on roadtrips. Others sacrifice time during which they otherwise would sleep or party.

Athletes commonly work with teammates taking the same classes to lighten each individual workload. And they rely on assistance and advice from older teammates who've learned tricks togetting it all done.

Still, varsity athletics demand so much time of a student that even the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship competition to study at Oxford after graduation has toned down its once-stringent sports requirement.

According to the 1994-95 Harvard College Guide to Grants, today's Rhodes committee might be inclined to accept hiking when looking for athletic prowess in an applicant.