If you thought school starting at 7:20 this year instead of 7:30 was bad, try getting to school at 5:45. That’s what the girls’ varsity soccer team had to do during tryouts week and now does every Wednesday morning while the rest of the school is coming in at 8.

Most students aren’t even up at 7:00 on a Wednesday. Getting up at 5am is unimaginable to get to practice at 5:45. The sun doesn’t even come up until after 7:20.

“No one really wants to be there but we have to because we’re a team and it helps keep us in shape throughout the season,” said junior Caitlin Herron.

After school practice can only be so long, and only so much can be done in the limited amount of time. Morning practice serves as a supplement to afternoon practices and allows the team to fit in extra conditioning work.

“Morning practices give us a chance to use the weight room since other teams are always using it after school so we actually get some muscle strengthening in,” said senior Hannah Winner.

The team spends almost all of its time during after school practices working on their game, making it hard to find time to fit in sprints, abs, and weightlifting.

“We do a lot of sprinting and ab work, and some strengthening activities in the morning. We don’t have time to do a lot of hardcore conditioning during afternoon practice so morning practices are a way to be able to fit it in,” said Herron.

The team is bringing commitment to the next level. To get up that early and part ways with your warm bed knowing that you are leaving it to go sweat on a field shows real will.

“Nobody quits and says they can’t do anymore, which shows our team’s drive and determination,” said Herron.

Despite the team’s dedication to the physical aspect of morning practices, there is one thing that they can’t stand—showers.

“Taking showers is absolute torture and only two of them work. The water starts off freezing and then switches to scorching hot and it feels like your hair is going to burn off,” said Winner.

Even though the whole team has to deal with the showers, the underclassmen get stuck with the short stick.

“People sprint to the showers to get the best one and all the seniors yell, ‘Seniors first!”’ said sophomore Abby Keller.

Despite all the discomfort, the team is sure that they’ll see results.

“It’ll pay off in the end,” said Herron.