No Breaks Allowed: High School Sports Training During a Pandemic
At the start of quarantine, many people seemed to struggle finding a routine in the midst of all the chaos going on in the world. Most kids took an entire break from their everyday realities as they tried to deal with the frustrations of the pandemic. However, after six months, students have adapted a new lifestyle and tried to make a return to normalcy. The athletes, in particular, have resumed training in hopes of returning to their seasons this upcoming year. As they continue to stay in shape while practicing social distancing, many have admitted that it is much more difficult than it would initially seem.
One multi-sport athlete that can testify to the challenges of quarantine is junior Isaiah Dinh, who is in both basketball and track. He mentioned that both of his coaches have planned out different exercises for his team to do in order to stay in shape. He and his basketball teammates have also been shooting around at different places when it’s been safe to do so. “[The hardest part about trying to stay fit is] working out safely, and the uncertainty of where you can do it. The gyms are opening and closing and you never know where you can go,” Dinh said.
As a member of the dance team, sophomore Sarah Iter believes that dance workouts are much different than those of other sports. “Dance workouts focus on more technique and control of body movements while other sports focus on stamina and endurance,” Iter said. In her extra time, Sarah has been stretching and doing other home workouts in order to maintain her flexibility in preparation for the season. Unlike many other sports, the dance team has already begun to practice together, which is why each dancer has already been preparing to bring their best. “Working out has made me feel happier and more confident in myself. It just goes to show that exercising does not only affect you physically, but also boosts your mentality,” Iter said.
Ryan Deal, a senior on varsity soccer, has been another athlete going the extra mile to maintain his skills during the offseason. Since he isn’t able to train with his team, he has taken it upon himself to do everything he can to stay in shape by “relying heavily on dumbbells for both an upper body and lower body workout, while occasionally going down to the 4S park to run sprints”. Another important aspect to keeping good mechanical skills is getting “lots of touches on the [soccer] balls”. Deal understands the importance of perfecting a craft, even when the odds are against him. “Showing up unfit to training can leave a bad impression for your coaches and teammates and spiral into reduced minutes during games. After all, every consequence will directly impact your position on the team,” Deal said. Many athletes hold the same mentality close to their hearts during this unusual time.
Although athletes have been getting their large share of physical work in, they don’t entirely make up the amount of students trying to stay fit. Even kids who don’t play sports have been making sure to take advantage of this quarantine and work on themselves by exercising heavily. Junior Emily Kim states that she does many ab workouts, since she loves the feeling of her abs working and getting sore. “I also think strength training is important, as it helps you build muscle,” Kim said. When asked about how she finds motivation to work out, she does admit that it is very difficult to get her body moving everyday. “I always push my workouts back and tell myself I’ll get to them but usually I get really lazy and tired, and sometimes I forget to workout at all,” Kim said. Her fitness inspiration is youtuber Sarah’s Day, describing her as not only interesting but also “very happy and motivating”.
All together, students across campus are working towards making the most out of their time during quarantine, in whatever way possible. Nobody knows when we might go back to normal workouts, so we might as well make the most out of what we have.