Athletes gear up for spring sports by conditioning
February 7, 2008
By: Andrew Browning <abrowning@hilite.org>
As winter sports wind down with State tournaments, athletes in spring sports have already begun to prepare for their upcoming seasons with after-school conditioning. Although the IHSAA prohibits coaches of spring sports from conducting mandatory practices at this point in the year, optional conditioning sessions allow teams to get an early jump on the season.
“Conditioning starts us out at a very high level of endurance and if we keep running long distance throughout the season it helps us keep up our endurance,” David Hanover, varsity lacrosse player and senior, said.
“(Conditioning) helps you later in the season, but especially early on during the hard workouts and when the workouts are longer you can tell you’ve been training,” Ellie Taff, varsity 800-meter runner and sophomore, said.
Although preparing players for the physical grind of the season is a key aspect of preseason conditioning, Brandon Burke, head coach of men’s lacrosse, said his main focus during off-season workouts is on team bonding.
“The key thing is for everyone to become closer and develop friendships through working hard together and developing a work ethic and pride in what they do,” Burke said.
Hanover also said that building friendships during the off-season is key because strong team chemistry provides a foundation for success.
“(Making friends during conditioning is) very important because if you aren’t friends with your teammates you aren’t going to have a good time and you aren’t going to want to play together,” he said.
Although starting conditioning early in the off-season is important for building friendships and getting in shape, Burke said that he worries about players over training and experiencing a burnout during the season.
“Burnout is always a concern, so playing year-round may not be best for a player,” Burke said via e-mail. “We encourage competing in other organized sports to become a well-rounded athlete and help maintain the passion for the game.”
However, Hanover and Taff both said that burnout has never been an issue during the season.
“The only time I ever got burned out was during the summer because of all the lacrosse camps I went to, but after that it’s not a worry at all,” Hanover said.
“(I’m not concerned about burnout) at all. The fire’s always there,” Taff said.
With burnout not being a concern for Taff or Hanover, they said they are motivated to train hard now in order to accomplish big things later in the season. Taff, whose 4 x 800-meter relay team made it to the State Finals last season, said she hopes to reach the State Finals again this year, both as an individual in the 800-meter run and with her relay team.
“I’m really motivated because I feel I did really well last year and want to do even better this year,” Taff said. “I want to make it back to State as a (relay) team and also get there as an individual.”
Hanover said his motivation to train during the off-season comes from his desire to have his final season with the Hounds end with a State championship.
“My motivation is to keep my spot on varsity and for the whole team to win State this year.”
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