Athletes transitioning from fall to winter sports
November 18, 2015
Managing one sport can be a challenge all in itself, yet some athletes take on multiple sports at once. Students do fall sports, and once that sport is done, they move right onto their winter sport.
Students can choose to participate in fall sports for fun or to feed their desire to be competitive. Athletes can participate in sports such as cross country, football, soccer, tennis and mountain biking during the fall. Some students go on to participate in winter sports such as alpine skiing, nordic skiing, basketball, wrestling or hockey. But not all sports end in time for the start of winter sports, and even if they do, athletes have very little time to adjust and prepare for the next season.
Some athletes have to miss their winter practice because they are still finishing up their fall sports. By missing practices, athletes could be missing important things their coach believes are essential to be at.
“I have not gone to any wrestling practices because of football,” junior Tyler Olson said.
Even though athletes can miss practices, there are some benefits to being a multi-sport athlete. By participating in two or more sports athletes can utilize different muscles instead of honing in one a particular set of muscles that they use during their main sport. Using different muscles can then help athletes when their main sport comes back around.
“Doing multiple sports helps your main sport by cross training in another sports,” sophomore Siri Bohacek said.
When athletes participate in multiple sports it helps prevent mental and emotional burnouts. In other words, athletes will not get sick and tired of sticking to one sport.
“It’s definitely nice to focus on something else and take a mental and physical break,” Bohacek said.
There are some problems that can occur if sports overlap, such as little time for a break risking the possibility of over training. Students are advised not to over train because then athletes are more susceptible for injury in the winter.
“It is important to take a break or you run the risk of over-training,” Bohacek said.
Although when athletes miss practices in their overlapping sport, most coaches are understanding about the situation. Most will know if an athlete is involved in multiple sports.
“My coaches are very understanding that I have other sports that are important to me as well,” senior Sam Hanson said.
While managing two sports can be a challenge, it is really all about how students pick and choose which practice they go to that day and how they manage their time.
“You kind of have to pick one or the other, you can’t really do two sports at the same time, during the same season,” Hanson said.
Doing back to back sports can be hard and difficult if unprepared, because it can affect athletes emotionally and also physically. It’s all about time management and how well student athletes can stay productive.
“Taking two sports back to back can be very challenging if you’re not ready for it,” Hanson said.
Even though doing two sports can be hard. Most of the time athletes do it for enjoyment and to stay healthy.
“I like playing two sports, I don’t really worry about anything,” Olson said.