Athletes Train For Pre-Season
Girls varsity field hockey gathers for preseason practice at Hatch field.
By TEDDY CAPOZZI and LANG GUO
On Aug. 31, Big Red athletes, both new and returning, made their way to campus. Coaches, aiming to make the most of their brief preseason, created arduous but rewarding schedules for the athletes. Our fall teams took advantage of this time to meet players and adjust to the new teams formed.
Despite temperatures hovering around 90 degrees, senior field hockey goalie Audrey Sim felt the coaches accommodated harsh weather conditions well. Sim noted, “The coaches made sure that we were hydrated and none of us were ill or anything.” However, she wished schedulers were more considerate in lining up practice times with the weather. “I would have preferred the practices to take place earlier in the morning and later in the night to make the weather conditions less harsh,” Sim continued.
In respect to the field hockey team, Sim felt that preseason was a prime opportunity for the group to bond and transfer their strong progress from the previous year. “We have a really strong team. I think our defense and offense looks very good so I think that we can do better than last year and we’re off to a great start.”
Similarly, lower and ex-football player Quinn Smith appreciated the coaches’ willingness to accommodate the athletes in terms of dining. Smith noted, “At times the practices interfered with dining hall times but we were provided snacks.” Smith was particularly keen on the bagels.
When asked about the coaches’ demands upon players, Smith applauded the coaching staff for maintaining a rigorous schedule in order to keep up with the excellent results from last year. More specifically, he appreciated the resources and support set in place for players. “We had all the resources for it not to be too demanding on our bodies. We were given time off from coach Voul- garis in order to recover which was really great.” Smith continued speaking on the team’s commitment to achieve their goals this season. “Even though the schedule was difficult at times, it is really just the cost of winning.”
Senior football player, Cordel Epale became particularly animated when asked about the football team’s future success as a result of a strong preseason. “We’re starting to have a lot more com- petitiveness within the team, which is a good and positive competitiveness. We’re pushing ourselves more, we’re holding each other accountable.”
Prep Melody Ma enjoyed the camaraderie that volleyball preseason provided with the two-to-four hour days on the court, ex- cluding team meals. “We spent hours together a day not counting team dinners. The food was really good.” However, her strong early impressions of the dining hall were quickly abated once the academic schedule commenced, “the food at preseason was a lot better than right now.”
Although the dining hall food exceeded expectations, the boys cross-country team ventured into town a lot for team bonding meals. Senior David Goodall shared, “I went to town with a lot of my teammates, and we ate at Me and Ollies together in harmony.” Waking up early for practice was difficult but Goodall was “happy to get a wild berry smoothie afterward.”
However, Goodall’s positive experience was cut short. He said, “We did a long run, which was good, until I got scratched by a lot of poison ivy.”
Senior Aidan Ting on the cross-country team commented on the tough practices. “On average, the eight or nine miles a day we ran in the sweltering heat was difficult. But we built camaraderie during those long runs.”
This preseason for Big Red athletes proved to be a challenging yet productive period marked by dedication, teamwork, and adaptability. Through their hard work and guidance from coaches, the athletes remained committed to their goals and are excited for a successful fall season.
