Winter sports are in full swing and athletes are sweeping the competition.
Boy’s basketball is currently ranked second in Topeka, right behind Highland Park. Girl’s basketball is ranked third in Topeka, behind Hayden Catholic High School and Seaman. Recently, the boys’ swim and dive team took 11th place scoring 94 points against 22 other schools.
Both girls and boys bowling has also been one to watch out for, with varsity girls scoring 2206 points, and varsity boys scoring 2740 points at both of their latest meets.
Womens wrestling scored 41 points winning against Olathe North at their latest meet while boys took 8th at their last meet.
The cheerleaders are also currently competing for Nationals in Dallas, TX.
Along with winter sports are the upcoming spring sports such as girl’s soccer, Track and Field, girl’s softball, boy’s baseball, boy’s golf, boy’s tennis, and girl’s swim and dive. Even though these athletes’ seasons do not start until early March, they have already started conditioning.
Conditioning is when coaches of the respective sport come together with most, if not all, of their athletes to start training for their upcoming season. Conditioning is so important because of a variety of different reasons.
The first reason being improved performance. Training for one’s sport early on before the season starts helps develop strength, speed, endurance, agility, and flexibility. This is especially helpful for athletes who do not play their sport all year round with a club team or individually.
Another reason as to why conditioning is important is injury prevention. When an individual goes weeks or even months without physical activity/training their body may not be used to the strain it can endure when practice officially starts. Unpreparedness can lead to injury that can take a player out for a few games/meets or even the entire season. By slowly reintroducing irregular movement into an athlete’s routine, the muscles can grow to be stronger and you can avoid practicing improper technique, strains, tears and other injuries of that sort.
Lastly, conditioning can help improve mental toughness. This means that the discipline and commitment required in conditioning can build one’s resilience. Athletes learn to push through discomfort and challenges, which translates to better focus and determination during competition.
If you are going out for a spring sport, do not procrastinate. Start conditioning now so your body can be in the best shape possible for performance.
