HOLLAND, Mich. (WOOD) — Being a student athlete in college is a full-time job, but one Hope College offensive lineman is doubling that.

Luke Marsh is balancing game plans and lesson plans. Before he clocks in for practice, he’s clocking out of his full-time job as a special education teacher at Spring Lake High School.

“The kids are awesome,” Marsh said. “I’ve never had a single problem with a kid.”

It’s a lot to handle at once, but Luke figures, “Why not?”

“It’s the friends I’ve made,” he said. “The tightest group I’ve had decided to come back. Obviously, a lot of them are normal seniors — fourth-year seniors. So, I figured I might as well come back. I could never do it again. In terms of school, honestly, it’s like another year closer to retirement, benefits and all of that. I just figured if I could both, I might as well.”

More often than not, the two have to overlap in order to fit football, teaching and his own school work into 24 hours.

“I’m not going to lie, it’s pretty tough,” Marsh said. “It’s some long days. A lot of waking up when it’s dark and getting home when it’s dark. … Then, just squeezing in film whenever I can because I can do it on my phone. If I can, I put it in my planning hour. … I usually leave school around 2:50 or 3:00 (p.m.), it just depends on the day and if there’s any kids who need anything extra after school.

“Saturday nights, like 8:00 (p.m.), are really nice,” he added.

Yet, he never shows up to football practice exhausted.

“That’s the greatest thing about Marsh,” Dylan Clem, Luke’s teammate on the offensive line, said. “He might be tired some days, but he’s always the jokester. He’s always the prankster. He’s always someone that can make you laugh. I’ve been around him for the past four years and he comes here every day wanting to work, wanting to get better.”

The 80+ hours per week are worth it to Marsh to be able to live two dreams at once. His parents started fostering kids once Luke was old enough, so he has three foster siblings with special needs. 

“It was kind of my way to get into the field without necessarily having to deal with parents as much,” Marsh said.

In fact, being a teacher and football player kind of go hand-in-hand.

“I think the biggest thing, for me, is realizing how many different people are all a part of this one unit,” Marsh said. “Just understanding all of those different perspectives. Then, when I went into teaching, especially in special ed, you get so many different personalities every day. So, understanding each personality and their aspect coming in every morning has definitely helped me manage my teaching, but also helped me manage the team, as well.”

Hope’s football season gets to keep going with an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. Luke knows he’ll miss this chaos when his fifth year finally comes to an end.

“Sometimes, I think about it and I’m like, ‘Man, I really do have a lot going on,’ but, overall, it hasn’t been terrible,” he said. “I would probably do it again, honestly.”