Forced to silence their alarm and roll out of bed at the crack of dawn, athletes drag themselves to early practice, yet many believe the sacrifice is worth it. When it comes to training, a handful of SCHS sports teams provide players extra practice times early in the morning to improve and develop their skills. Some, however, believe early practice can lead to demotivation and resentment from those who cannot participate.
Wrestler senior Kai Johnson pointed out that early practices grant wrestlers extra training time. Due to wrestling being a sport surrounding techniques and moves, such as pinning an opponent, the more time they have to solidify new skills, the better they perform.
“It feels like you’re already getting the move down much better, and it makes it just come easier and more natural,” Johnson said. “By the time you get to the evening practice, you have that move in your mind, so it feels easier to implement later.”
Basketball player sophomore Andrew Catolico shared that his coach implemented early practices because it leads to further player development.
“In the morning, you have to wake up and put in more work, so later on it reflects in how you play,” Catolico said. “If you woke up at 6:00 a.m., it shows dedication to your sport.”
There are, however, downsides to sports having early practices, some athletes feel. According to Johnson, players who do not attend the extra practices can fall behind skill wise and not get the same benefit others do.
“You may use a move they don’t know, so it puts a divide on skill level, but then again, that’s the risk that comes with not going to early practice,” Johnson said.
Additionally, teamwork in the morning can differ from teamwork levels in afternoon practices. Sophomore swimmer Saanvi Bhartiya observed that during morning practices, many of her teammates are still waking up and tend to be less social.
“Everyone’s just swimming. No one is really in the mood to talk. I still talk to my lane mates, but in the afternoon, everyone’s more energized,” Bhartiya said.
Early practice is often viewed negatively when it is used as a form of punishment. Basketball player sophomore Varun Dangeti’s coach would hold early practice to discipline players after losing games.
“It would never work because we would do the same things in the morning that we did in games,” Dangeti said. “It led to us being more demotivated as a team because everytime we would lose, he would bring us down more.”
Whether they are individual or team sports, there are mixed opinions on the benefits and downsides of early practices. Not all SCHS sports teams offer the same amount of practice opportunities, but many athletes recommend using all the opportunities they can get.
“I think morning practice is very useful for sports, and a lot more sports should have it because they really do help out a lot,” Johnson said.