Albany athletes bring the summer heat

High school students are some of the most hardworking, dedicated people in this country, and athletes are no exception. They spend their summers training for the upcoming sports season. Although “official” practices do not begin until one week before the school year commences, there are teams that hold unofficial workouts starting in June to get a jumpstart on the year. At Albany, these teams include the cross-country team and the football team. The cross-country team begins unofficial practices in July which occur every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday until official practices start. Cross-country coach Al Baker described that as a typical summer workout.

“We start with a warm-up, which consists of a 1 mile run. Then the team does stretches, and then a long run for about 30 to 50 minutes depending on how far the run is. Then we warm-down which consists of more stretching.” However encouraged, these practices are not mandatory.

“Parents take their kids on vacation they come when the can come,” stated Baker. These practices can affect an athlete’s performance during the regular season which can indirectly affect playing time or whether you make varsity or JV.

“If you come to the initial practice and haven’t done anything all summer, you won’t make the top 7 to make varsity,” said Baker. “You can’t cut athletes during the summer, you have to give them an opportunity to perform, and if they went to the summer workouts they probably have a better chance at making varsity.” However, there are no penalties directly related to missing summer practices.

The football team works just as hard over the summer. In fact, it started unofficial practices one week after school ended and continued them for three days a week until official practices began on August 14th. Football coach Scott Shevelson explained that a typical football workout includes “45-60 minutes in the weight room, including upper and lower body workout, 45 minutes of running which varies from long distance to sprints and intervals. Then we do about 15-30 minutes of passing drills.” When asked if attendance at these practices affects how he views the players, Shevelson commented,

“When you show up all summer it shows dedication. You can see who really wants to play football and who comes when it’s mandatory. Some of the kids who don’t show up and are the best players would be even better if they had come to summer practices.”

Eric Roberson, a running back and defensive back, is a senior on the varsity football team who could not make more than a couple of the summer practices. Although they are not supposed to be mandatory, he says that they essentially are. He said that there were 24 practices, and you could miss four of them with some exceptions. Does missing practice affect playing time during the regular season?

“Yes,” confirms Roberson, “if you didn’t go a lot, you don’t start on offense. You’re not in for the first play, but they can bring you in. I only went to about two or three practices, but I’m one of the better guys so when the game starts I usually come in on the 2nd or 3rd play, but I can’t go in on the first play.” Is this really fair? Should students get penalized, even if only slightly, for not attending non-mandatory summer practices?

“To a certain extent,” said Roberson, “If it’s a family function then it’s not OK, but if you just don’t feel like coming it is fair, but the punishment shouldn’t be too extreme.”

Overall, these practices seem to have a positive effect on the teams, bringing them together and making them more cohesive and motivated on the playing field. Let’s hope that all the hard work and effort put in over the summer shows through during the fall season. Go Cougars!

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