Varsity Teams Inspire Motivation Through At-Home Initiatives
Despite school cancellations and social-distancing measures, sports teams are still finding ways to strengthen the bond between team members and train during this pandemic. While it’s impossible to replicate the experience of a season on campus with teammates, teams have been trying to keep their players practicing and in shape.
Boys Varsity Hockey, Girls Varsity Lacrosse, and Girls Varsity Squash have been doing live workouts together over Zoom. The lacrosse team has two workouts a week; in one, they watch film of themselves practicing at home and of college teams with lacrosse trainer Jamie Munro. The other is conditioning with Strength and Conditioning Coach Brodie Quinn ’10. The Boys Hockey team’s two workouts are both with Coach Quinn. Bodie Molnar ’21, a member of the Varsity Hockey team, said, “Coach Quinn is one of the best to do [conditioning], holding us accountable and pushing us like we were still at school. It’s nice, because it’s a chance for the boys to see each other again all while getting a sweat in and working toward next season.”
Encouraged by coaches, the captains of the Boys Varsity Track team have continued motivating the players and attempting to build a stronger bond on the team within the new constraints. Kostia Howard ’20, co-captain, explained, “[Coach Pierre Yoo] encouraged me to think about ways to reach out, and we’ve really tried to stay connected as a team. We have weekly calls for everyone who wants to drop in and talk to each other, and a Strava page for the distance track team, which I think encourages people to run and do something healthy for themselves while they’re stuck at home.”
Some teams are struggling to schedule practices. The Girls Varsity Tennis team hasn’t been able to train together, but players are still finding creative ways to do workouts and solo drills to help progress their tennis skills and athleticism. “I know some players have been playing by themselves just to get reps in. I’ve been doing home workouts and stairs in the stairwells of my building, and [athletes] usually just do wall volleys to retain their touch and feel,” said captain Jennifer Li ’20.
Head Coach of Varsity Ultimate Frisbee David Thompson has recommended many exercises and drills to the ultimate frisbee team. A few of these recommendations include sharpening ultimate-specific skill sets and watching ultimate games to pick up strategy. Ultimate players have also been throwing with their families and practicing skills by themselves. Across all teams, coaches are encouraging athletes to find ways to stay training as they look forward to competing next year.
