High school sports mean something different to many people, but no matter if you play them to go into college or just for fun, you have to be ready for 5-6 days a week of work for when your sport is in season. Imaginably, it would be quite the challenge to keep up with such a rigorous schedule if you couch potatoed around all summer.  So how do student athletes keep up with the high physical demands of their high school sports?

I know personally if I never dragged myself on a jog around the block a couple times in the summer, soccer pre-season would probably take my life. For two weeks before the season starts, we have practice for an hour and a half, morning and evening, every day. In the morning, we do conditioning, which takes lots of endurance, and in the evening we practice more ball skills and positioning/strategy.  This isn’t until the end of the summer though, from June when we are out of school until mid August. It’s up to the individual to be in shape enough to be able to lift one foot after another after running 10 laps around the field in the summer heat at 8:00 am.

For the boys soccer team, they do it a little differently. Freshman Toby Webb says that his team practices most of the summer, every Tuesday and Thursday for two hours each day. He says that this keeps him well enough in shape that he can handle himself during the season. The bi-athlete he is, he also plays lacrosse for the school. The conditioning for soccer keeps him in shape when it comes to running, but he is careful not to go too long without touching a lacrosse ball.

“I enjoy playing wall ball or passing with my friends in the offseason,” Webb says. “It keeps our ball skills sharp.”

For others, particularly those involved in only spring sports, it’s up to them entirely to keep up over the summer. There are summer camps available to get extra coaching and practice, but much of staying on the ball is just being sure to keep the muscle you gained in the season so that you’re ready to progress by the next season, rather than starting all over. Junior Kendall Loos says she enjoys running at the track at the school to stay in shape for her track season.

“On top of running at the track, I also lift to keep up my strength and attend the gym regularly,” she said. “It keeps me in tip-top shape.”

Sophomore Angelo Natili also prefers managing himself, just keeping a consistent gym schedule throughout the summer as he does all year round. A less competitive player like myself, he doesn’t have the drive of someone playing the sport for their college career or life-time way of being, so the time and money spent on additional coaching isn’t as necessary for him to enjoy his sport.

“I could probably join some camps or club teams and get better, but I mostly just look forward to having fun when the season comes around,” said Natili.

Junior Jade Nether plays varsity on the girl’s tennis team, a team that she’s gone to states with for the past 3 years. Imaginably, it takes some consistent practice to be ready to be at her best when the season starts in the fall. Her and fellow junior Lara Ejzak go to Lakeview over the summer to get some hits in on the court, for fun and for practice. Many of the other girls on the tennis team practice throughout the summer too, just at Alpha instead, to keep up with the competitive nature of their team.

“The biggest thing you can do to be ready for the season is just consistent practice,” Nether said. “There’s nothing that helps more than maximum time on the court.”

Overall, even something small like kicking or throwing a ball around outside with your friends can set you up to still be in the grove by the time summer comes to an end. Don’t let yourself forget about the sport that will, before you know it, consume your life again as soon as the school year starts!