Pre-Season Conditioning

As the winter sport season rolls in this year, some spring sports are starting their pre-season conditioning already. Including; boys’ lacrosse, baseball, crew, tennis, and softball. Although the spring season does not start until late February many students are starting their training now. “The pre-season conditioning is really physical training,” said Robert McKeag, T.C.’s Athletic Director. “[It’s] getting you ready for the season to start.”
Although some spring sports are conditioning now the majority do not start until after the winter holidays. “It depends on the coach’s availability after school and on the availability of the weight room,” said McKeag. Not only are those some key factors to take into consideration but also the majority of the winter sports are using the facilities provided by the school. This means that the spring sport coaches will have to use the facilities other than what T.C. has for conditioning. According to McKeag this does limit availability of the programs; however, some are still able to work out in other locations. “[The tennis team] has practice every Tuesday and Thursdays’ after school from 3:30-5:30 at Chinquapin and we actually do play but the seniors run the practices,” said Junior Robert Reese.
There are still a few things that students may not be aware of when it comes to pre-season conditioning. “By rule we can’t use sport specific equipment in our off season programs,” said McKeag. This does not mean however, that student athletes can not play on their own. If a baseball player wants to practice hitting then they should go to the batting cages. If a rower wants to practice then they can train on local teams. Some sports are run by seniors, for example tennis, that do actually play, and gather up the team, on their own time. There are many ways for athletes to train on their own. “[Student athletes should] take the initiative on their own and practice the things they need to do to prepare themselves to get better,” said McKeag. Players should practice on their own or with a teammate to get ready for the season to make the coach’s job just a tad easier. “[Tennis] practice is more of a way playing and getting ready for the season,” said Reese. “It’s also a way to figure out who you play doubles with well so when the season starts you don’t have to waste time deciding that and [get] right down to business.”
Students that are interested in playing a spring sport should check the athletic website (www.tcwilliamsathletics.org) regularly for updates from coaches. “We have given access to all our head coaches to upload information on their part of the website,” said McKeag “If a student athlete wants to play lacrosse they can go to the boys’ lacrosse/ girls’ lacrosse website and they can hopefully get information there because our coaches will put it there.” There are other ways to find out when interest meetings are or conditioning sessions are being held. Listening to the announcements in the morning is a great way, as well as word of mouth through the athletes which is the most common way.
There are many ways to get ready for the upcoming spring season. Whether an athlete trains on their own or with a friend or even with the whole team, nothing makes perfect better than practice. Keep your ears open for announcements on pre-season conditioning as well as chatting with friends to get the latest updates. For more information concerning pre-season conditioning and all other sport related information visit www.tcwilliamsathletics.org