Winter break: a time for friends and families to come together in a time of calm sandwiched between hectic semesters. However, for student-athletes in winter sports, this pause also splits the season in two. It is a great divide where athletes must balance conditioning themselves to prepare for the remainder of the season that lays ahead, all while recovering from the first half of the season that has already taken place.
As junior Paul Sapilewski, who plays on the boys soccer team, traveled for vacation over break, he wanted to make sure that he stayed active and conditioned.
“I tried to get a few runs in per week, and got out to a local community college soccer field to work on my dribbling and shooting to keep it all sharp for the season,” Sapilewski said.
Sapilewski reiterated the importance of continuing to practice basic drills through the winter break as to avoid a slump during the second half of the winter season.
Senior girls basketball player Sachi Urushima also did her best to stay ready for the winter season ahead.
“The team continued to practice at the same level as before to keep our conditioning up and prepare for the regular season,” Urushima said.
Although the girls basketball team had a few days of break from practice, they made the most of the winter break to continue preparing for the grueling season ahead. For sports that did not have as many team practices over winter break, the first few days back at practice were crucial to pick up right where they left off.
Sophomore boys basketball player Thomas Mehhleib made sure to stay in shape over break by going to the gym daily.
“I made sure to go to the gym to train every day [over break]. As we came back from break, the coaches made us run a lot as a team to stay conditioned for the upcoming games,” Meehlieb said.
A positive aspect that the winter break provided was that it allowed student-athletes to recover from nagging injuries given there were no games to be played.
“Javi helped me recover from any injuries I had and also helped me form a routine to prevent any new ones. After coming back from break, I have continued to work with him almost every day to help my body stay healthy,” Meehleib said.
As the second semester kicks into full swing, Pinewood student-athletes will be ready to hit the ground running after a productive winter break.
