Fall sports are right around the corner, and with that means lots of summer preparation. In order to succeed in the fall, it’s important to get your training in before the season. With football, cross country, volleyball, girls tennis, boys soccer, girls swim and dive, poms, and cheer, these athletes work hard over the summer to prepare for their season.
Every sport does it a little differently, but most tend to have morning practice to stay out of the heat. In order to prepare for their season, girls and boys cross country athletes practice three days a week at 6:30 or 7:00 in the morning. It’s important for them to get their run done early so they aren’t running in the heat. Practice starts early June, as they need the summer to build up endurance and stamina so they are ready when August comes around. Some athletes prefer to run on their own time, but coming to practice is a great way to team bond before the season starts, especially for the incoming freshmen.
In order to prepare their skills, the girls tennis team holds practice, starting in early June, usually two days a week from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Not everyone is a morning person, so this way they can still stay out of the heat in the fresh evening air. The girls work on their tennis skills and technique at practice, and some of them do their own cardio and lift outside of practice. Junior Ellie Aitkens says, “Practicing is really important to better your skills and I am really excited to get to know this year’s team before the season starts.”
Boys soccer holds practice Tuesday through Thursday from 8:00 to 10:00 am. They work on a variety of skills such as passing, control of the ball, and being loud and communicating on the field. Some athletes like to do their own lifting and cardio outside of practice as well.
With a long season ahead of them, summer preparation is very important for football. Football holds practice three days a week at 7:30 am. Junior varsity has practice at 10:00 am. During practice they work on individual skills as well as team drills. “Summer practice is important for the season, because it helps us work together as a team and it builds team chemistry.” says junior Joseph Holcomb. Cross training is also important preparation, such as weight training to build up strength and speed, and cardio to build up stamina. Football has blue/gold scrimmages and 7 on 7 games in the summer to also help them prepare for the in season games.
Volleyball prepares for their season all summer long, with a June lifting schedule to help build muscle, and summer practice starting in July every Tuesday and Thursday at 8 am, as well as team bonding. Volleyball has games in the summer to lead into the school season. This is especially important for the incoming freshmen, as they can get a feel of what it is like to play on the team before the actual season starts. Junior Merrick Amankwa says summer preparation is important, because it “Helps each individual player figure out what role they are going to play for the team.”
Cheer and poms has morning practice starting in June two to three days a week. During these practices, the girls learn their meet the warriors routine. The cheer girls also work on stunts and the returners teach the new girls the cheers. These practices are necessary, so the girls know what they are doing coming into the season. Sophomore Carlee Hawkins says, “Summer practice is crucial for our team because we learn the skills we need for the season.” The poms girls use their summer practices to teach the new girls the sidelines and the loyalty, as well as learning a dance to perform at meet the warriors.
With the school year coming to an end, our fall athletes have a full summer of preparing for the season. Summer practice is a great way to build friendships and get in that extra work in order to succeed!
