Sleep, eat, [insert sport,] repeat.
The cliche little phrase has made its way onto t-shirts and the “about me” boxes on facebook everywhere. Now, it might become a reality.
The VHSL’s proposal to make yearlong, seven days a week practices will be set in for the 2011-2012 school year. The extra time teams spend together and hone their skills will provide Virgina, an already highly competitive state, with an advantage against other less intense states. It also might drive it’s athletes crazy.
Student athletes already have jam-packed schedules. Homework, practices, getting honor society hours, and religious or family obligations really add up, never mind trying to manage a social life.
Many students try to have at least one sport-free season so they can catch up on homework, sleep and reality TV. Without that detox session, they would get unbelievably stressed.
For those who do not take a season off, their multiple sports might conflict. Most athletes play at least two sports, and many sports go together, such as field hockey and lacrosse, or basketball and football.
Although the off-season practices are not mandatory, coaches “highly advise” their athletes to attend, meaning if you want playing time you had better get your butt to practice. No one wants to decide to either give up a starting position in both sports or only focus on one.
The results are going to be devastating for Track & Field. A good amount of the track team at any school is composed of athletes who run track secondary to their “main sport.” Just because they happen to play football or lacrosse doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have the opportunity to lace up their Nikes and hit some fast times.
Even if they originally join just to stay in shape, most athletes find they love track and do not want to give it up. However, if they feel pressure from their other coaches, they will probably drop running. Goodbye half the Track team…
Now, that is not to say there aren’t runners who do solely Track or Cross Country; there are many. But from both a competitive and a social stand point, Virginia Track is going to miss a bulk of their athletes.
More exhausting is the seven days a week practice schedule. Coaches can call practice any time, any day. Seven AM on a Sunday? I’ll see you there.
Ignoring that Sunday practices may violate religious obligations, having practice seven days a week is detrimental to performance. Muscles need at least one rest day a week in order to rebuild and prevent injuries.
Time is also a huge factor. Many students already go to bed at midnight on a school nights on account of school work and extracurriculars. Do we have to take away sleeping in on the weekend too? Also, Sunday usually means one thing: homework day. Not like academics is the point of school or anything.
While the state is clear on what it wants to do, WS does not yet know how strict the new policy will turn out to be.
First, it has to filter through the Northern Region, whose board plans on restricting practice times and implementing “dead zones,” or times when practices are not allowed, such as parts of July. Once they play around with it, the Patriot District will have some say and then finally WS.
Decisions will not be finalized until late August, so athletes: enjoy your spare time while you can.
