An Athlete's Work Is Never Done

by Sky Roberts

March 20, 2013

With summer approaching, most college students will be enjoying their time off of school with vacations and relaxation. Student athletes will be spending their time preparing for the next season. At Avila University, 85% of the student body is comprised of student athletes. There are six men’s teams, including basketball, baseball, cross country, football, golf, and soccer. There are eight women’s teams including basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, volleyball, cheerleading, and dancing. Each team has a way of keeping conditioned during the off-season. Gabby Sysavath, cheerleader at Avila University, tells about her off-season workouts to prepare for nationals season. “We have scheduled open gyms for recruits and keeping up our skills, though most of us will go into the gym and either lift or do some tumbling and stunting on our own time. All you can do is continue to practice your skills and gain more by the time nationals come around,” said Sysavath. “During the off-season, the basketball team works out together with weights and agility work” said Justin Reed, basketball player at Avila University. “During the softball off-season, we work out in the afternoon and have morning conditioning,” told Courtney Morgan, softball player at Avila University. “Our season gets intense during the fall semester, with three practices a week until December comes around. Then, during winter break, we have practices every day—sometimes two-a-days—to prepare for nationals in January,” said Sysavath. “Aside from our team workouts, Coach P stresses that we get into the gym to shoot and work on our ball handling--he tells us to work on our weaknesses. We also have a lot of open gyms with former players to stay in shape and keep up our cardio,” said Reed.

The Avila University coaches put a lot of preparation into creating off-season work outs to make the most progress out of their athletes. Coach Marc Benavidez tells about football’s off season workouts. Right now is an extremely busy time for the football players with recruits and preparing for their first game on “We run three times a week and lift on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. We have certain workouts to prepare each player for their positions. Our mission is to increase our athlete’s muscle balance to keep them healthy in all aspects of their bodies,” said Benavidez. On Tuesdays and Thursday’s, the football team does their cardio conditioning. On Tuesday’s they focus on speed and agility while on Thursday’s they focus on conditioning and distance running. “To keep their competitive nature, we’ll set up scrimmages and competitions through our conditioning,” said Benavidez. April 2^nd begins spring football where the training becomes more strenuous to prepare for the upcoming season.

Softball also has a strategic off-season to keep their bodies conditioned. “During their pre-season, the softball players will work with a personal trainer and condition with cardio and weight training,” said Coach Rob Wade, the softball coach. For the basketball players, conditioning their bodies is a year round requirement. There is both a strict pre-season and post-season for the athletes. “Pre-season we will work with a lot of running. Post-season begins about two weeks after the regular season where the players will focus on building muscle. They will also continue to work out individually,” said Coach Rodney Perry, the men’s basketball coach. Women’s basketball will also work with cardio during their pre-season to prepare for the endurance needed in basketball games. Their post-season also includes weight training while their muscles have time to repair.

The golf team’s off-season workouts consist of conditioning and weight training. They will also practice their swing and accuracy during their free time. In the off season for volleyball players, the athletes will attend open gyms and also practice individually. Some will join summer leagues to keep up their skills. The athletes will also weight train and condition to keep up the endurance needed for a volleyball game. Baseball requires a year long season to keep their bodies conditioned. The athletes will participate in both summer and fall ball to prepare for the season in spring. Each athlete has a different exercise depending on what their position is in the team. They practice together and individually. Cross country also works out year round, going on long distance runs to keep up their endurance for meets.

Being a student athlete is a full-time commitment. After a strenuous season, every Avila athlete is back in the gym working on what needs to be done for next season. “If you don’t practice in the off-season, you’ll find yourself back to square one by the time it matters. Keeping up your skills is super important, and that takes effort year-round,” said Sysavath. Even without scheduled workouts, there are several ways to keep up endurance and strength with Avila’s gym—including the track, basketball court, and machines made for a student athlete’s success.

Avila basketball player Louis Lou performing curls in the Avila
weight room. Photo by Sky Roberts

Avila cross country runner working out arms by doing curls in the
Avila weight room. Photo by Sky Roberts

Former Avila basketball player Austin Stockard keeping up
his strength in the Avila weight room. Photo by Sky Roberts