Throughout the school year, many students speak about the sports they play during all of their classes. As the season changes from fall to winter, the talk of football, field hockey, cross country, and other fall sports fades away, while conversations about indoor track, swimming, and fencing appears. Then, when spring arrives, these conversations get replaced by ones about baseball, lacrosse, and outdoor track.
Summer, however, is the one season when not many people discuss what sports they are doing. No one is in school any longer to divulge in what they are doing as much.
Some students are still almost as busy with sports as they were during the school year. Junior Adam Howard is part of the school’s tennis team during the spring, and he continues practicing throughout the summer. He takes part in the United States Tennis Association (USTA) with several other school team members.
“It’s nice to be in control of what I want to work on, since it’s on our own time,” Howard said. In the spring, the practices and meets are at scheduled times several days a week, but in the summer, it is possible to set any day and any time.
Sophomore Chris Pedersen goes to fencing practices every Monday, and he practices soccer whenever he can.
Pedersen said, “Practices are a lot easier [in the summer] than during the school year, and I like it a lot better than the regular season. It’s mostly run by parents and captains, instead of a coach.”
Some students go to camps to learn more skills for a sport. Junior Rocky Delgadillo goes to a summer camp called Kangaroo Clinic for field hockey, where she learns skills with other team members from school.
“Australian professional players come and teach us different types of shots and more defensive attacks, and we bond and get better at playing as a team before the season starts,” Delgadillo said. “It gives us an advantage over the other teams who don’t practice over the summer.”
Countless possibilities are available on what sports students want to do throughout the school year, and nearly as many possibilities exist during the summer as well. Practicing during the summer can be for pure enjoyment, or it can be to keep and learn new important skills for the sport season in the following school year.