While a majority of students relax and enjoy their summer vacation, plenty of students stay on the grind and continue to practice the entire summer for their upcoming fall sport that starts at the beginning of the school year.
Senior Andrew Quinn is a cross country runner who has been running for six years. Each summer, he knows what the week will consist of and what he needs to do personally to get in shape for the start of the season.
“My typical summer routine consisted of lots of miles,” Quinn said. “I would try to increase my mileage every three weeks or so. We would have long runs Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, Workouts on Wednesday, and Friday I would try to do a tempo run or progression run. Saturday would be another day of rest or easy miles.”
Quinn also makes sure not only to physically prepare, but also mentally and often struggles more with the ladder.
“Mentally preparing is tougher than physically preparing,” Quinn said. “It’s what separates the good runners from the greats. This summer, I made sure to be present in the moment. This is the biggest thing as an athlete. Do not worry about what is about to happen or what has happened, it is about the moment you are in.”
Coach Tabitha Quinn makes sure to progress her runners the proper way each season.
“Following our summer training runs, we work the team, progressing 10% weekly in their base running. Strength and conditioning is key to their summer training as well,” Quinn said.
Senior Logan Meyers also focuses hard in the off season to prepare for the upcoming baseball season.
“I’m usually in the gym for about two hours a day, and doing cardio as well at the end of my workouts, I try to just get a lot of hard work in,” Myers said.
Myers makes sure to have something to look forward to so he can stay focused when training
“What motivates me the most is seeing progress. The more I see progress within muscle growth and strength gains, the better I feel,” Myers said.
Coach Tom Smith’s goal is to just see his players play and improve during the offseason.
“Our approach to summer workouts is to just let these kids play ball all summer long,” Smith said.
Junior Camden Keefer also makes sure to get his work in to prepare for the grueling football season.
“Monday through Thursday we’ll go an hour in the morning for lifting and then another hour right after for conditioning,”Keefer said. “Then Friday, Saturday and Sunday, I try to get something off. I can’t go a day doing nothing.”
Keefer makes sure to fuel his body with all the right nutrients he needs to be in peak performance each practice.
“I have to eat a lot of calories, lots of protein, and drink lots of water,” Keefer said.
Head coach Vince Nedimyer makes sure to give specific goals to each athlete and monitor them throughout the summer.
“We set individual goals for each student throughout the summer, Especially lifting goals. This really helps with the progress each student is making throughout the summer weeks,” Nedimyer said.
