Cross country, field hockey, soccer, volleyball and many more fall sport seasons are approaching faster than expected, and pre-season is starting for the athletes of Big Spring.  It’s time to get off those couches, climb out of bed, and back into the gym.  Pre-season workouts for sports is weightlifting, team camps, practices, and then the start of the season at the start of school.  Beginning about 7 months before fall sports season, athletes dread pre-season workouts, but all of their hard work pays-off.  

Cross country pre-season workouts are running over the summer because of track beginning now.  Being the individualized sport it is, the Tuesday and Thursday summer workouts are for the benefit of the athlete.  Melanie Macioce said, “Pre-season for cross country really helps individually in how well you do in the sport, but you do bond with the team.”  The summer practices for cross country are to help the athlete to allow them to become better during the season.

Field hockey currently has optional spring lifting and open practices for their off-season workouts before pre-season begins over the summer and fall.  The spring season is mainly weight lifting to get in shape for the upcoming season and to gain muscle.  “Open fields [are held] to work on fundamentals and other skills the player herself needs to improve on,” said sophomore goalie, Johanna Burrell.  The fall pre-season consists of conditioning, team bonding, and skills for the whole team to work together.  “Pre-season gives the team time to know each other and see who works best with each other,” Burrell said.  The athletes are always changing and improving and they need time to establish how they work together before they hit the field for another season.  

Soccer pre-season is starting off with practices of mainly drills to help relearn and aid athletes in becoming better.  Soccer is a team sport, needing everyone on the team to be as advanced as possible to be able to win.  Freshman Erin Brandeburg speaks for how well the practices help the team. She said, “We get a lot faster and better a ball skills.”  The soccer workouts are designed for helping the athletes become better as they work harder and harder for spots on the varsity team.  “I get a lot faster and better with my cut and a lot more ball skills,” Brandeburg said regarding the personal achievements she has from the pre-season workouts for soccer.  

Volleyball pre-season is currently practicing every Tuesday to stay in the game. Then, the team of high school players are encouraged to help out with the middle school season, helping teach and run practices.  Wrapping up the pre-season and middle school season, the players make their trip to Slippery Rock where they have team camp to work on improve skills.  Improving skills is the number one reason for the pre-season which shows in lots of our athletes.  

The athletes of these sports are working this off season to the improve themselves and the team for their season.  As the students of Big Spring smell spring and summer in the air, athletes remain excited for the start of their sport and the competitiveness of the fall season arising.