Posted: 02/07/07

No more off-season
Athletic teams implement off-season programs to stay fit

Amanda Pelley | contributing writer
apelley@smcvt.edu

Members of the women's soccer team perform sprints during their off-season training. (Amanda Pelley, photo)

Whether student-athletes are underway in their season or have another five
months to go before their first game, coaches are taking measures to make sure their players stay fit.

There’s a method to their madness

It is important for athletes to stay on top of their game in order to remain competitive and allow more chances for improvement, Zafir Bludevich, associate athletic director at St. Michael’s College says. Training varies from coach to coach and from sport to sport, but it all comes down to improving your overall performance, he says.

“Most sports have some sort of program that the coaches put together,” Bludevich says. “Some teams have strength and conditioning programs like the men’s basketball and ice hockey teams that they end up paying for on their own.”

There are off-season regiment restrictions that are regulated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association regarding how involved the coaches can be. However, there are no restrictions concerning what kind of exercises athletes can partake in.

“A lot of times programs are overseen by specialists so the coaches aren’t there and they aren’t violating any NCAA rules,” Bludevich says.

Bludevich says he believes there’s certainly a method to their madness of training. “The number one thing is it enhances your performance,” he says. “And number two, it decreases your chances of injury.”

The increase in numbers of off-season workout regiments will ultimately raise the competition in college sports, Bludevich says.

“From a competition standpoint, everyone is doing it because everyone wants to get better,” he says.

Consistency, the key to success?

Approximately 25 percent of St. Michael’s college students participate in varsity sports.

“The vast majority understand it takes commitment,” says Joe Faryniarz, head athletic trainer. “Everyone should partake in an off-season program which should include a cardiovascular program.”

Faryniarz says he is used to dealing with injuries on a day-to-day basis. He says he is also used to rehabilitating athletes' bodies to a healthy state.

“Anything to help with your endurance is going to benefit you,” he says. “Healthy athletes should be working on overall strength including the core.”

Faryniarz says he is a firm believer in off-season training and describes it even as a lifestyle. He says the "weekend warrior lifestyle" can eventually lead to injury.

“But you’re at a greater chance of getting hurt if you’re not consistent with your workouts.”

Training ultimately benefits the athlete who is serious about his or her sport, Faryniarz says.

“Motivation, consistency, and the quality of workouts are the main challenges,” he says. “I always say quality over quantity.”

A head start

Many athletes not only work during their off-season with their teammates and coaches, but on their own during their summer breaks as well. First-year student Kathleen Thompson, a member of the women’s ice hockey program, says she made sure she was in top shape to begin her season.

“Over the summer I participated in F.A.A.S.T., which is a program that focuses on overall fitness with a concentration in agility and strength training,” Thompson says. “We would meet three times a week for an hour and a half.”

Thompson was thankful she got herself involved with the program because before she knew it, her team was entering their pre-season of dry-land training, she says.

“We woke up at 5 a.m. for five days a week for an entire month,” Thompson says. “We worked as hard as we could because we knew it would pay off when we got on the ice.”

The women’s ice hockey team's dry-land training mostly consisted of running, but they also hired a certified trainer who introduced different exercises, Thompson says.

“We would be jumping on boxes, sprinting, jumping rope, doing push-ups on a wobbling surface, and also using medicine balls,” Thompson says.

The team was also required to attend the gym where Caroline Perkins, the certified trainer, planned an intensive weight lifting program for them.

“I think off-season training helped ensure that we were in shape and ready when we hit the ice in the winter,” Thompson says. “It was helpful to have the team together and molded before we started our official season.”

Thompson admitted that off-season training would have been more difficult if she hadn’t gotten a head start on her work out routine in the summer.

Kevin Simmons, junior midfielder for the men’s lacrosse team, was also busy during the summer preparing for fall lacrosse and his spring season, he says.

“Our coach sends us a packet home in the summer with a work out regimen just to ensure we’ll be ready to go,” Simmons says. “I focused mainly on running, strengthening my core, and increasing my weight by 20 pounds.”

The men’s lacrosse team practices six days a week in the fall, Simmons says. The workouts vary from lifting, recreational basketball, and running.

“I feel a lot better about playing this year,” Simmons says. “Everyone on our team seems to be bigger, faster and stronger.”

Women’s soccer team stays focused

Members of the women's soccer team stretch out before their off-season training begins. (Amanda Pelley, photo)

Although the women’s soccer season is only 68 days, they don’t slack on their off-season training, head coach Marcel Choquette says.

The women began their off-season workout in the last month of January in preparation for their fall season.

“The first six weeks we focus on strength and conditioning and cardiovascular,” Choquette says. “We then slowly phase into ball-work where we prepare for the five competitive dates we have scheduled.”

The team mainly focuses on endurance and increasing their overall fitness in the off-season, says sophomore midfielder Skylar Bryan.

“Over the next few months we have timed two-mile runs where we’re expected to gradually improve our time,” Bryan says. “We also incorporate running on stairs, and a weight lifting program into our training.”

This year, the team is working hard to enter preseason in peak condition, Bryan says.

“It’s more intense this year because our team wants to get better,” Bryan says. “Our goal is to come into preseason in the best shape we can possibly be in.”

The team has demonstrated a great amount of improvement from past seasons and are motivated to continue to improve, Choquette says. He adds that he is enthusiastic about the the improvement and he is ready for competition.

Choquette says he is also enthusiastic about his teams improvement and he is ready for competition.

“The objective is a stronger, faster, better player, which almost always equals out to more success," Choquette says.