With the Spring sports season in progress, many teams decide to practice over Spring Break in order to stay in shape.
Jay Medasani, junior, is on the baseball team, which will dive into its heavy, 30 plus game schedule with games on Friday, March 15, and Saturday, March 16, followed by afternoon practices on Monday and Tuesday before traveling to Springfield on Wednesday to play five games between Thursday and Saturday.
“We have to stay sharp because we have games over Spring Break and right after Spring Break,” Medasani said.
John Meyer, varsity baseball coach, echoed the need for players to prepare and stay at the top of their game.
“The timing factor plays the largest role because if you’re pitching to a hitter and the hitter is trying to maintain that timing and rhythm, when you take more than about two or three days off, I think the hitting production or the effectiveness on the timing of your swing is greatly affected,” Meyer said.
Baseball’s dependence on continuous practicing is emphasized by the time off the team faces between games.
“It’s just unfortunate for the game of baseball that you have to focus on that,” Meyer said. ”Because if you watch a major league game, they play 162 games in the season and they don’t take a whole lot of time off during the season. And when they do, they usually see results in a negative way from it.”
Bri Kappeler, senior, plays soccer, and said it is important for players to stay in shape independently as well.
“I think it’s important to practice over Spring Break because it’s the beginning of the season, and we’re just starting to get into a groove so you don’t want to lose any of the progress you’ve made,” Kappeler said.
The soccer team will be traveling to Jackson, Missouri, on Friday, March 22, and all players must meet MSHSAA’s eligibility requirements of 14 practices before participating in a game.
“We’re doing Saturday practices to make sure everyone has enough before our first game,” Kappeler said.
Dennison Harris, junior, has been pole vaulting with the track and field team since his freshman year. The team began practicing on Monday, Feb. 26, and pole vaulting began on Wednesday, Feb. 28.
Harris said rest from a time off like Spring Break can be beneficial going into a season.
“Sometimes it’s good to have a rest, but you do want to make sure it doesn’t kind of shock your system when you get back,” Harris said.
Pole vaulting will be having optional organized practices during the break.
