Pre-season conditioning providing strength and stability for spring season
Conditioning
for spring sports isn’t an easy task with cold, snowy weather and the
basketball teams using the gyms.
However, varsity soccer coach Ed Dudley finds ways to manage.
“It’s
hard, because we’re trapped inside, so it gets pretty repetitive,” said Dudley
of the conditioning sessions, each of which lasts approximately 45 minutes
after school.
Dudley
runs conditioning for soccer on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays and also administers
track conditioning on Wednesdays and Fridays.
This is the second year Dudley has done track conditioning as well as
soccer.
The
girls training for one of the spring sports are split into three groups, which
rotate to different stations throughout the session: weights, speed ladders and
stairs.
“It
works out well because a lot of girls who have trained with me for years can be
split up into different groups and be leaders in that group. They show the younger kids how it’s done,”
said Dudley.
Returning
senior soccer player Kristine Willrett has been on varsity for the past three
years. This year she’s the only senior
on the team and is taking the challenge seriously.
“She’s
a huge help,” said Dudley of Willrett.
“She’s become a real leader.”
Willrett
attends and helps run five conditioning sessions a week. “Even though conditioning is very physically
demanding, you always feel like you accomplished something when you’re done,”
said Willrett.
The
45-minute workout is no piece of cake.
The girls are expected to be constantly moving, especially when
sprinting the three flights up the west stairwell.
“The
stairs are pretty brutal,” said Dudley.
“We’ve had more than one person off barfing in the bathroom because of
them.”
“It’s
not as hard as it could be, because if we could go outside I think so many more
people would have dropped out. But it’s
still really hard,” said Tori Gerken, a freshman who is planning on trying out
for soccer.
In
spite of the intense physical activity, the conditioning sessions have had a
good turnout.
“Sometime
it’s easier to go home to sleep and skip conditioning, but I know Ed’s workouts
help prepare all spring athletes for their season,” said Willrett.