With winter sports seasons coming to a close, SCASD athletes face a change in routine. Whether the next three months consist of a completely different sport, a three-month off season or other new activities to stay active, students begin adjusting their day-to-day while transitioning from winter sports to a new spring regimen.
State High offers an extensive amount of after school sports, ranging from boys basketball to wrestling to bocce. The student body is very involved in the athletics department, and overall the district performs admirably on a state level. Sports are observably impactful in students’ lives and mean more to the athletes than is obvious.
Sports are highly encouraged to students, a value demonstrated by the consistent and welcoming advertisement around State High from varying sports teams. Being active in terms of movement and health is not only well-understood but incorporated by teenagers into their own daily lifestyles. A sports team means more to high school students than just exercise.
In the case that an athlete plays back-to-back sports, the end of the winter season is really the start of a spring sport.
“Basketball’s over, and then I just start running and then track starts,” Katherine Savitski, a freshman on the girls JV basketball and outdoor track and field teams, said.
While it is not required, students can work out in the fitness center attached to the school. Workouts specialized for each sport are provided by strength and conditioning coach Diane Swauger through the Teambuilder app to help kids prepare for the upcoming season.
“I start lifting more because it’s kind of hard to go [when I’m] practicing every day,” Nora Marsh, a freshman on the girls JV basketball team, said.
Alternatively, students will take the few provided weeks in between seasons as a break. With practices taking place five days a week, students find themselves with significantly less free time to do schoolwork and other recreational activities.
“I choose to go out and do things I don’t get the time to do when we have practice every day, [like] hanging out with my friends and stuff,” Kyra Allen, a freshman on the indoor and outdoor track and field teams, said.
State High’s athletics department has proven to be very accommodating towards students and how they choose to manage their time in regards to balancing school and sport. Regardless, when taking a deeper look, there is a greater change occurring in the lives of student athletes as they transition out of their winter seasons.
“I’m happy I have a lot more free time now, I’m sad because I miss talking to people I played with,” Marsh said.
While being a demanding and time-consuming extracurricular activity, sports remain a space for students to make connections with others and work towards their goals. The time provided in between different seasons helps students ease into the shift in environment, both socially and athletically. Regardless of what students choose to do with the time in between, State High has moved from winter sports into spring.
