Training before the first game, race, practice, or tryout will help to get the most out of any sports season. Being physically and mentally prepared is essential for success during tryouts.

Soccer captain John Isaac, who is on varsity for his second year, suggests, “Fitness-wise, I’ve definitely been running a lot this summer since we have a two-mile run at the beginning of tryouts, but I’ve also been preparing mentally, too. This year, going into tryouts, I wanted to lead. There are only four of us returning this year, and we want to teach and help the new guys.”

Head Coach Franz Calixte agrees with Isaac´s views on returning players helping the new ones, and also has goals that he hopes to achieve with this.

“The main goal this season is to always put in the work, grind, come together, and put our best foot forward. They should approach every game the same way. When we have a really hard game, we do the same thing to prepare ourselves for it as we do every other game,” said Calixte.

Tennis is one of the most competitive sports at ETHS, and making the team takes a lot of preparation in the off-season and mental focus at tryouts.

“Tryouts are for the purpose of seeing who can play really well under pressure. That’s why I think they’re really a valuable thing to do,” explained girls’ varsity tennis coach Leanne Baker.

As an athlete, feeling pressure is normal. What makes a great athlete is being able to overcome it.

“I knew if I was thinking negatively about myself that I was going to keep losing, so I told myself to just get one more ball over,” remarked junior Ella Serpa.

Serpa said she trained with athletes already on varsity, and that it helped her become more consistent and showed her how she needed to be playing. Try to set goals and routines not just during the season but throughout the year.

“Work hard, know what your game is, know your strengths and weaknesses, and just keep working on them,” said Baker.