Offseason for Athletes

            It’s one of the biggest misconceptions in all of sports and it happens to every athlete, every year.  When the season ends, it’s always good to take some time off and let your body rest after the strenuous grind of the deadly combination of travel, practices, homework, games, and workouts. But, that only lasts for a short while, especially in the college ranks. One of the biggest clichés in sports is the phrase “hang ‘em up til next year!” This saying is the farthest thing from the truth if you ask any athlete.

            On most occasions, it is the athlete who returns to the game to compete before the coach requires the players to comeback to start their off-season workouts. The reason for this is the players drive from within that ultimately brings them back to compete. Inside every athlete there is always a will to strive and improve, and what better time than in the offseason. Like the old saying goes, “great player are made in the offseason.” And just like any other school in the nation, teams at Saint Martin’s are beginning some of their offseason workouts in preparation for the upcoming season. 

            Most notably might be the fall sports, which include men’s and women’s soccer, along with volleyball. These three squads will be reporting to campus almost a month prior to the start of school to prepare for their 2013 season.

            “Right now we are doing 6am conditioning three times a week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, which consists of lifting for half of the time and cardio for the other half,” said Saints sophomore midfielder Sasha Dini.

            But the soccer teams aren’t done for the day after they complete their morning workouts, because later in the afternoon, they head out to the field to get some skill work in.

            “The same days that we have we do morning workouts, we have a regular team practice from 3:30 to 5:30. So it’s basically two-a-days,” noted Saints junior midfielder CJ Chu.

            To an onlooker, this may seem like a lot of work already with morning workouts and practices in the afternoon. But, that also doesn’t include the class load, or outside work that student-athletes are doing as well. What most people don’t realize is that in the offseason, student-athletes tend to take more credits because they aren’t travelling or playing games. But what some might not recognize is that even without those two factors, it doesn’t make going through the rigors of the offseason any easier.

            For example, Chu, who is majoring in criminal justice and taking 15 credits currently, also has a work study job with his coach twice a week for two hours as an office assistant. Add this to his already strenuous workouts and practice and that can make for a really long day.

            But Chu isn’t the only soccer player with an outside job. Dini, who is majoring in biology and taking 17 credits, also works as a coach for Black Hills Soccer Club in Olympia, along with her work-study job on campus in the Office of Institutional Advancement.     

             “I don’t get a lot of time to study, but I keep my grades up, even though it’s  tough,” as Dini put it.

            Along with both soccer teams working hard this offseason on the field and in the classroom, so is the volleyball program which is under the new leadership of recently hired head coach Kara Peterson. The Saints volleyball team is going through their first offseason together with Coach Peterson at the helm.

            “We are currently practicing five days a week, along with weights and intervals on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, as well as an agility program that we do on Tuesdays and Thursdays,” said Saints sophomore defensive specialist Halee Hernandez. 

            Hernandez is a math major working towards her degree in education as well, is required to do 50 hours of practicum observation for one of her classes. Along with the 18 credits she is taking, Hernandez has mysteriously found time to work as a head coach for the Puget Sound Volleyball Academy who practices two times a week and plays in tournaments nearly every weekend.

            But she isn’t the only Saint on the roster who is coaching either. Freshman Shea-Linn White and sophomore Kristyn Ross do as well. White is the head coach of another squad in the youth program, while Ross works as an assistant with Hernandez.

            With the addition of the new coach, Hernandez calls this offseason the toughest. “This spring is definitely taking some getting used to since we didn’t do this much work in the past to prepare for the fall.”

            For the freshmen who are going through their first offseason at the collegiate level, they have been surprised to see how much work goes into getting ready for the upcoming season.

            Freshman Kirby Neale, who is currently injured with a stress fracture in her foot, was amazed at the amount of “time spent coming into a new season.”

            However, the fall sports aren’t the only teams preparing for next year. Men’s and women’s basketball are off and running as well.  Women’s basketball is currently having open gym three days a week for an hour and following that up with either lifting or cardio.

            “We are also doing individual workouts. Depending on what position you play, you and the other girls in your position will have a practice together,” stated Saints freshman guard Brooke Rickard. Rickard, who is in her first offseason training in college, said that “It is a little more challenging than I thought it would be.” As well as being a full time student-athlete, who is taking 17 credits, Rickard is very involved in the Hawaiian Club and intramurals.

            On the men’s side, things are currently a little different because the team is in the process of hiring a new coach.

            “Currently we are having open gym three times a week, but since we don’t have a coach, we are on our own for lifting. Most of us are working out as a small group or with partners,” noted Saints freshman post Lucas Shannon who is taking 16 credits. 

            As the offseason grind continues through April, so does the rest of the requirements that we as student-athletes continue to go through. Once finals week rolls around in early May, teams are required by NCAA rules to scale back the amount of time doing athletics. But once the school year is over and summer comes, athletes still continue with their workout plans in preparation for their preseason workouts. Once the team’s seasons are in full swing, the student-athletes will be thankful for the amount of hard work and dedication they put in during the so called “offseason.”  

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