WOODBURY — It’s the first practice back to sports and you’re halfway through. There’s sweat dripping down your neck, you can’t breathe, and you’re wishing you had stayed in shape during your offseason.
Athletes at Nonnewaug utilize things like the weight room and running to stay in shape for their main sports.
Lots of people join the indoor or outdoor track team during their offseason and use it to stay conditioned, including Brayden Whipple, a junior on the baseball team.
“We do a lot of conditioning and we run a lot, so I should be faster for springtime,” Whipple says.
Similar to Whipple, freshman Tatum Kociszewski chose to do track to stay fit.
“I was going to [play] softball in the spring but I decided not to, so I guess I’m just doing it to stay in shape all together,” Kociszewski shares.
Nonnewaug athletic trainer Sean McGee shares how doing multiple sports is beneficial.
“Switching up your sport or being a three-time athlete decreases the amount of injuries, and it actually makes you a better athlete and perform better one way or another,” McGee said.
Kociszewski, Whipple and other track athletes are benefiting from track by reducing their risk of overuse injuries.
Although most athletes have opportunities to stay in shape, there are people who do not take that to their advantage.
Joshua Kornblut, assistant coach of the Nonnewaug boys soccer team, notices that some of his athletes did not condition during their breaks.
“They don’t necessarily have the stamina they need or at times it can be pretty obvious which athletes train over the offseason and which don’t,” says Kornblut.
To try and prevent athletes coming back not ready, the majority of coaches have workouts throughout the offseason. Sports in the fall have captains practices throughout the summer, so the athletes can get or stay in shape for the upcoming season.
“Before our field hockey season we practiced in July and August,” says Kociszewski.
Staying in shape can be done in many ways, but no matter what you do, you should always be doing what you can to be the best you can for your sport.
“It’s much easier to stay in shape, then to be in shape, lose shape, and then come back into shape,” McGee said. “Always be active of some sort.”
