Spring sports are coming around the corner at Northview. This calls for extra preparation so athletes can be the best they can be when the season begins.
With winter sports concluding soon at Northview, the athletes are beginning to prepare for their spring seasons. This includes strength and conditioning training in the weight room and indoor track before and after school. Some of the first sports to start training are the girls’ soccer and lacrosse teams.
The girls’ soccer team trains in the weight room on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:45-7:45 PM. Senior Hannah Hoover has been on the team for 3 years and puts in the work at these practices every week.
“We have lifting and it’s in the area in the weight room past all the benches near the machines,” Hoover said. “We do abs, arms, cardio, legs, use weights and we also run on the track.”
They also have Sunday indoor futsal training from 7 PM to 8:30 PM. This is a different form of soccer played on a court instead of a traditional field and utilizing a heavier ball. Futsal’s fast-paced game promotes more technique with the ball.
“We go into the big gym and we just do some passing back and forth with the ball, do some drills, and then we just play for the rest of the time and it helps a lot more with foot technique and being able to perform in a game like setting,” Hoover said. “But it’s still very lowkey and helpful to get your comfort levels and build your confidence with it.”
These workouts have helped individuals bond with each other and begin to be an actual team before the season officially kicks off.
“We get to hang out with the people that are going to be on the team, which is super helpful for team bonding and being more comfortable when the season starts,” Hoover said. “It’ll just make us a lot more of a team in general because we’re hanging out with people that are going to be on the team and it’s also bringing in freshmen and people who have never played before or people who are new to the school, so they can get to know people.”
It’s the same case for the girls’ lacrosse team. Lacrosse has morning workouts and 3:15 practices at Highlands every Wednesday after school. Junior Taylor McCullough has been there for it all.
“We do a lot of stick work, so we do some wall ball and then just some team chemistry passing, and then we also do a little bit of conditioning with ab workouts and running on the track,” McCullough said.
The girls are starting early for the goal of being ready for game day on the first day of practice.
“If we were to just start on March 10th we’d all still have to catch up and get onto the same page and kind of get used to being with each other and get back with our stick skills,” McCullough said. “Having practices before helps us kind of expedite that process.”
Many athletes find pre-season conditioning to be beneficial emotionally as well.
“It toughens you up a lot,” McCullough said. “A lot of times when you’re running you can just think a lot like, ‘this is terrible and I do not want to do this at all,’ but just really pushing through and getting through it and knowing that you can is a big part of the mental game and I think that contributes a lot into games as well.”
In order to excel in a sport, an athlete needs to be committed. Conditioning before a season is a great way to physically and mentally prepare any athlete for the time ahead. For students thinking about trying soccer or lacrosse, now’s the time! Reach out to Taylor McCullough or Hannah Hoover for more details.
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