Most fall athletes start their season at the beginning of their summer break with practices every day becoming routine. Sports like football, cross country, swim and basketball are some of these sports starting at the beginning of summer.

“We started the first day of summer break,” varsity football player Seth Padden said. “We take running starts to get our hearts pumping up, then we head to our separate groups on the field such as linebackers or quarterbacks.”

For student athletes, practice during the summer is optional and attendance is not as strictly enforced in comparison to when the official season starts. As long as players communicate with their coaches, they’re able to enjoy summer as much as they can.

“We are allowed to go on vacation anytime, we just have to let our coaches know a week or so ahead of our trip,” Padden said.

Training can range from an hour and a half to three hours in length consisting of different exercises each day. This schedule is especially implemented in swimming.

“We have early practices five days a week where we do dry land, which is out of the water conditioning, where we go to the weight room and lift weights, run the pool deck bleachers or use the equipment we have on the pool deck,” senior swimmer Molly Blanchard said. “On different days we work in the pool on different stroke techniques or different types of sets such as distance days and sprint days or IM (individual medley) days.”

Several sports hold training camps over the summer that help the team grow together, test endurance and help them become better athletes and competitors by testing their limits. Senior Josh Maier, who is a varsity cross country runner, has been attending cross country camp since his sophomore year.

“There are many different benefits to going to XC (cross country) Camp. I think the most important benefit is becoming closer as a team,” Maier said. “Camp is a great place to get to know everyone and bond as a team. XC Camp also benefits our running. Every year we run through the Sleeping Bear Dunes which is very hard, but it strengthens our legs a lot.”

Training before the start of the season can have numerous benefits. For example, it can help athletes get in shape before games and meets start.

“Training gets us ready for our season so that when it starts, we can do a great job from the start of the season and then continue to grow even stronger throughout the season,” Blanchard said.

Summer training can also allow athletes to bond more than they would during the season and help them form strong relationships with one another.

“Camp has absolutely helped me as an athlete,” Maier said. “It stresses the importance of being close to your team. I believe the best teams need to have great chemistry and that’s what XC Camp helps create for our team. It’s a hard week of running as well. We are running at least six miles a day doing two runs per day. To do it you need a lot of determination which will transfer into your races later in the season.”

Summer training can benefit an athlete on and off the field and helps athletes grow together as a team. To join a sports team at Fenton Highor to contact our athletic department, go to fentonschools.org.