It’s 6 a.m. and senior football player Jacob Currence hits the snooze on his alarm clock. He has showered and eaten breakfast by 6:30 a.m. so he can be at Southwest by 7 a.m. for morning weights. This is the reality for six groups of student athletes who used their summers preparing for the upcoming seasons.
Rather than spending his summers by the pool, Currence has been participating in summer workouts to prepare for the upcoming football season, as well as holding down a summer job.
“I came home and just felt drained,” Currence said. “Working out all day also makes you really hungry. I came home and felt like I could eat a horse.”
In addition to summer football workouts, Currence participated in a college wrestling camp at Fort Hays State University where the team worked out for six hours a day for five days.
“I felt like crying,” Currence said. “It was exhausting and I was so happy to come home and sleep in my own bed after that. I was so tired of doing the same thing every day.”
Currence has spent a total of 21 days at five different camps, but he sees the advantage in such a strenuous schedule.
“The workouts have helped me grow closer to my teammates since we had to spend so much time together at all the different camps and lifting every morning,” he said. “I also got a lot stronger and it helps you stay in shape to avoid injuries during the season.”
The oppurtunity to prepare for the season before it even starts is yet another benefit of summer workouts.
“I think it’s good because if the athletes play a lot and are in the weight room, they are getting stronger,” athletic director Gary Howard said. “If our team isn’t working out during the summer and the other schools are, the other teams will have the upper hand over us.”
Junior Megan Becker also understands the advantages of working out during the summer.
“Having open gym everyday in the summer will definitely help us get used to the schedule of practicing everyday after school,” Becker said. “I feel much more fit along with my skills improving.”
Becker, who plays volleyball and swims, says her summer schedule ended up being too much to handle.
“I had to give up club swimming this summer because it was extremely hard going from swimming to volleyball to conditioning to work,” she said. “I wasn’t wanting to give it up but I really had no choice, as it was just too much. I do miss it but I know that it was necessary.”
Many athletes have to give up more than most would expect in order to train so much during the summer months.
“I didn’t really get to hang out with my friends or go to many parties because of all the practices and camps that I had to go to,” Currence said. “I also didn’t get to go to the lake as often or take a long vacation. Some days, I was too tired to hang out with people after such a long day even if I had free time.”
The main goal for the season is continual improvement.
“I just hope that after last year, we keep making steps towards success,” Howard said. “Not just by wins and losses either. I am really proud of how the teams represented Southwest last year and I know they will do it again.”