Many dedicated athletes at Faith Lutheran train during the summer in order to maintain their skills during the off-season.

“I try not to lose the skills that I learned over the school year, so I train a lot during the summer,” said eighth grade volleyball player Lauryn Selby.
Some students still have practice during the summer instead of time off.

“My team and I have practices where we do drills that will help us improve,” said eighth grade lacrosse player Colin Stuhmer.

Many students practice for their sport during the summer so they are prepared for the upcoming season.

“Training keeps you active first of all, and it helps you to not lose your skills,” said Selby. “For example, volleyball players work so hard during their seasons to improve on their passing, but if you don’t pass for three months then you are going to suck when it’s time for school season.”

Although students can improve from practicing during their off-season, if they don’t work hard their results won’t turn out as well as those who put in full effort.

“Some teams just don’t work hard enough, and some teams do. The teams who work hard enough are the ones who will win the championship,” said Stuhmer.

Even though training during off-season is encouraged by many coaches, some coaches understand if a student needs to take some time off during summer.

“It depends on why [the student isn’t training]. If they aren’t training because they are taking a memory-making family trip or engaging in other worthwhile activities, that’s ok,” said middle school athletic director Mr. Ben Ersland via email. “If they aren’t training because they don’t like to work and don’t like that exhausted feeling after a good workout, that sends out red flags about their work ethic.”

The students who work hard during the summer experience positive results from their hardwork.

“If I don’t work to improve, then I am just wasting my time. Not only do I practice my volleyball skills, I also lift weights and exercise to become a stronger and better athlete,” said Selby.

Training during the summer helps in many different ways.

“Besides the obvious benefits of becoming a better and more skilled athlete, I think summer training can teach valuable lifelong lessons like the value of discipline, sacrifice, and goal setting among other things,” said Ersland via email.

Athletes who are willing to work hard and put in time and effort will have an advantage over those who put in minimum effort.

“If you work hard and set goals, then you can achieve anything,” said Stuhmer.

Camps and training opportunities at Faith Lutheran are available for students to participate in during the summer.

“All Faith Lutheran sports information can be found on our school website under‘Athletics’,

‘Summer Camps’. Basketball, soccer, volleyball, football, and softball camps are those that I know of being planned by our coaches,” said Ersland.

To see the layout version of this story, click the following link: summer training pdf