For many people, the sun rising symbolizes the beginning of the day. Only afterwards do you get out of bed, yawn, stretch, brush your teeth and maybe even treat yourself to a nice hot cup of coffee. Athletes in sports this spring, such as baseball, water polo and tennis, though, are often on the grind hours before the bright sun first appears over the horizon of Lake Michigan.
Multiple ETHS sports meet in the morning rather than the conventional time right after school. These morning practices generally start around 5:45 or 6:00 AM.
Large reasons for early sessions include practical limitations such as scheduling and weather that prevent the possibility of a start time of 4:00 PM. However, many coaches and players nonetheless see benefits in practicing in the morning too.
From a player’s standpoint, although getting out of bed at 5:00 AM can be a struggle, early practices allow them to relax in the afternoon. They are free to do whatever they want after school, whether it be having fun or doing homework.
“If you get it out of the way, you get to not only relax to recover, but you also get to relax to be able to say, you know what? I can watch that movie. I can hang out with my friends because I don’t feel insecure about missing my opportunity to get better,” said Kits JV water polo head coach James Conroy.
An overwhelming amount of studies have also shown that morning exercise significantly boosts children’s cognitive abilities during the school day. When someone is able to get their blood flowing and head clear in the morning, they can really focus later in the day.
Sometimes that prospect is still not enough of a motivation for players, as attendance is a persistent problem.
Conroy laments, “I do think less people come in the mornings, which is really unfortunate. With regards to how it affects me as a coach, again, that’s entirely dependent on you guys. If no one shows up, I’m not going to be able to run some stuff. If you guys show up, we could have a really good practice and then chill the rest of the day.”
From a coach’s standpoint, there is one more opportunity that morning practices create.
“It allows us to sometimes have practices before games, which gives us time to go over things. A little bit more specifically for certain teams.” says Conroy.
Although it is not an everyday thing, practicing twice in one day happens, and it requires real discipline.
“It’s rough as someone who’s had to do doubles. It’s a mental grind to not be able to check that box and relax,” agrees Conroy.
Fatigue is not the only complication that comes up with these double practices though. A constant question–especially for parents–is whether students have time left to keep up with their schoolwork and still get enough sleep.
That responsibility is in large part on the players, only they can determine what is more important and what is not. It is a delicate balance between commitment to the team, to school, and to every player’s own health.
When asked about it, Conroy responded, “Life happens, bro… Sometimes you might have to miss out on some sleep and make it up on the weekend. It takes a special person to really put in a lot of work. I think that’s why we kind of idolize the Kobe Bryants of the world, the LeBrons of the world, the people who really, make the sacrifice to reap the benefits of the rewards of that which they’re trying to sow.”
In other words, to get good at a sport, sacrifices must be made. If a student really wants to win, they have to commit and work for it. Waking up early to get that work in is just part of the sacrifice.
