His legs wobbled and his breaths became heavier as he ran around the track. He just finished running three miles, but he knew he could not stop there – training had just begun.
While many students are relaxing at home for the summer, young athletes like Jonco Holgado, a point guard for the school basketball team, are preparing for their long-awaited season.
“Some people think that since it’s the offseason, it’s time to relax and stuff,” he said. “But I want to take advantage of it and to try to get better in all of my weak spots for my games.”
To prepare for the next basketball season, Holgado and his teammates plan to start off by running three miles every day. After intense conditioning, they do core workouts like push-ups, crunches, and planks. To end their daily training, they work on their jumpshots, dribbling skills and offensive and defensive plays.
With all the sports seasons coming to an end and temperatures starting to peak again, offseason training allows athletes to look for room to improve in their skills.
“Training is exponential,” varsity water polo player Diego Serrano said. “It allows you to work on your areas of weakness and condition for the next season, so you’re miles ahead of your opponents. Personally, I train for the love of the game.”
Aside from a stronger body, a vigorous mentality follows vigorous training.
“I know that I’m getting better each day, and that from now until the next season, there will be a big difference,” Holgado said. “It will make me feel very accomplished.”
Junior varsity football player Kaisher Barbaran shares a similar sentiment.
“Training can sometimes be fun,” Barbaran said. “I grow not just as a person, but as a teammate.”
The football team has a variety of aspects they want to improve in. For one, they do backpedaling, which helps them adjust their speeds. Another common drill they work on weekly is ladder drills, where they run in between the rungs of a ladder to develop their footwork. This helps them by enhancing most of their abilities to tackle, sprint, make clear passes and catch the football being thrown by the quarterback.
Football coach Kenneth Osorio plans to make his athletes fitter, quicker and stronger for the next season.
“We look at the upcoming season as an opportunity to work together and demonstrate everything we have learned and how much we have improved,” Coach Osorio said.
To make sure to stay on track with training the days they are able to, these athletes keep a motivated mindset.
“Before going to practice, I keep a disciplined and persevering mindset,” Barbaran said. “I am also self-accountable and I keep a positive attitude because I know exactly what I’m going to gain from this.”
