Winter season works as conditioning for athletes looking to have a breakout spring

It may seem like spring is far away considering students haven’t even left for winter break, but many spring athletes have begun their training in hopes for a successful season.

“Training during the off season helps me learn and practice strategy”, senior tennis player Rachel Anderson said. “It keeps me moving and always thinking about my game.”

For Anderson and the rest of the varsity tennis team that winter training means heading to Hill Road Sports Complex to practice and take classes.

“We practice indoors, usually up at Hill road,” Anderson said. “We don’t necessarily practice as a team; It’s as classes. We warm up, run drills, and play practice matches.”

Track and field athletes also find ways to run and stay and shape during the winter months. For distance runners a lot of that running is done outside regardless of the elements.

“I train with the Fenton indoor track team during the weekdays and follow my outdoor coach Joe’s schedule as well as my trainer Mikes schedule,” sophomore Jake Lee said. “I do a workout each day that corresponds best to what they both want me to do. Then on Saturday I wake up early to go to Genesys indoor track with my trainer and other long distance runners from the Genesee county area, and on Sunday we usually do 10-12 miles for our long run.”

While Lee runs distance freshman sprinter and long jumper Maddie Hall had her own set of exercises to help boost her performance this spring.

“I run and do workouts at school,” Hall said. “Then I go to Ann Arbor once a week to do sprint workouts on the track and work on my long jump form. It helps me because it gets me in super good shape and prepares me for outdoor track.”