While many are taking the summer off to spend time at the beach, hangout with friends, and connect with family, fall sport athletes have to work over the summer to get ahead of their upcoming season. Combining early tryouts in the spring and practice over the summer is how teams such as dance and football are working toward a successful season.
The dance team finished their tryouts for next year on May 21, and they plan to get a head start for the fall by meeting over the summer to work on choreography and technique.
“We establish teams the season before so we are ready to practice over the summer because we need as much time as we can get,” junior Sarina Sukharj said. “We work on a lot of technique, prepping, getting to know each other, and getting set for the year.”
At the start of summer, the dance team begins practicing once to twice a week. The dance and football seasons both start at the beginning of the school year, so the team would not be adequately prepared if they did not commit time over the summer to practicing. The team also works in preparation for their competitions starting a few months into the school year. Getting a head start ensures their best performance on the sideline and stage.
Although there is emphasis on fall sports to work together over the summer due to timing, these athletes are not the only ones preparing over the summer. Cross country, volleyball, basketball, soccer, cheer, golf, lacrosse and more are working this summer to come back for a winning season.
Similarly to dance, the football team begins evaluating their players as they finish their spring season at the end of the school year. Coaches are given the chance to see who is ready to play at the varsity level by observing players’ performance during one month of practice and two games. This summer, they plan on splitting players into selected teams and working on their weaknesses to be most prepared for a winning fall season. Every day of the week the team will meet for weightlifting, except Mondays when they play in 7v7 tournaments. In the weight room, their goal is to get more fit and move heavier weights and seeing teammates everyday will help build overall team chemistry.
“It begins with getting back to consistent lifting without testing or no weight room availability,” said coach Richard Quinones. “Then spending time installing offense and defense while getting a lot of reps together.”
As the most popular sport of the year, football athletes feel pressure to be on point, and team members are willing to give up time in their summers to practice what they enjoy and to ensure successful seasons.
“I would choose to lift even if it wasn’t mandatory for the team, it’s a way to work on personal growth physically and get closer with my friends,” junior Parker Douglas said.