All athletes understand the feeling: The beginning of your high school sport season is approaching, and you have a nagging voice urging you to train in preparation of the sport. Deep down, you know the right choice is to start preparing for the season. However, offseason training often becomes secondary to other priorities in your busy life. Whether it’s fine-tuning crucial skills or getting in better shape, offseason training is extremely important for athletes of every sport, regardless of whether the sport has tryouts or not.
While training in the offseason may be strenuous for athletes, it does allow athletes to perfect the basic skills, so they can practice the more complex skills in the actual season. Not only are athletes more prepared for their season, but they set themselves apart from the rest of the athletes who did not train in the offseason.
“I do a lot of mirror work and make sure my strokes are accurate,” junior golfer Ben Graham said. “If athletes want to be the best at their sport, then they need to be practicing, because people are trying to be better than them.”
Senior baseball player Sam Harrington agrees that not training in the offseason can be detrimental to an athlete’s success in-season.
“If an athlete trains in the offseason, they are more prepared than those who did not,” Harrington said. “If an athlete is not getting better, then they are getting worse at their sport, and others are going to take their spots.”
Also, being in shape is a huge benefit from offseason training because obtaining a high level of fitness leads to better performance, execution of basic skills, improved mental stamina, and injury prevention. Senior soccer player Tyler Wray, who plays soccer year round, believes that physical stamina improves soccer touch.
“You need to be fit if you plan to be at least a decent soccer player,” Wray said. “Being in shape can also help with touch which can allow you to be more successful on the field.”
Training during the offseason seems daunting to most high school athletes. However there is an array of benefits beyond just being more prepared for the sport.
“I always love the feeling after a workout—not the dead-tired feeling—but when you feel slightly sore, but know you really put in the work to stay fit and get exercise,” junior swimmer David Rand said. “I feel like that alone should be enough to motivate athletes to train during the offseason.”