With many high school sports teams looking for any possible competitive edge, many have turned to summer training. Summer training consists of weight lifting, endurance training, and practices have become increasingly popular among high school athletics. Sterling High School is no exception.
Although many sports have different definitions of the term summer training, almost all sports now have some sort of training regimen. Recently, Sterling High School has adopted the Perch Lifting Program into the weight room. As opposed to prior focus on moving as much weight as possible, Perch focuses on moving weight at a certain velocity to help improve explosiveness and overall strength.
Although Sterling High School places a heavy emphasis on strength training and the weight room, there is much more that goes into sports summer training. Many sports participate in cardiovascular training or skill training as well.
The amount of meets or games that a sport has during the summer has a large impact on the week’s training.
Girls cross country coach Megan Grady explains that “[p]lanning workouts all depends on how many meets we have that week. If we only have a meet on Saturday, the girls will have two workouts, usually Monday and Wednesday. If we have a meet in the middle of the week, they will only have one workout!”
Not only does summer training benefit players and students physically, it also has large benefits for the team becoming one.
Football coach Isaac Kinnicutt explains, “I think summer training has a huge impact on team chemistry. When teammates see that you’re committed to summer training and the weight room, they can trust you because you have put in the work and done the things that are necessary to compete.”
Similarly when teams partake in summer training, they often find themselves better prepared for the competition time come their season’s start.
As varsity volleyball player Macy Anderson said, “When the season did come around, we felt as a team we were a step further and more prepared for the competition we were going to have to face.”
Although summer training cannot perfect teams, it can help teams to become much more prepared. Football has started their season 3-0 in conference games and volleyball has started 7-3 in conference games. Much of this can be attributed to training during the summer and work in the offseason.
