Summer training is a vital part of an athlete’s growth and development coming into the next year of their sport. As an athlete myself, summer training is actually more intense than in-season.

“It prepares you physically and mentally for the seasons you have coming up,” Junior volleyball player Cienna Feldman said. “Physically, it builds your endurance and gets you stronger and more explosive, and mentally, it helps you realize that you are more capable than what your mind is telling you.”

Although being drenched in sweat from the Texas heat while doing a two-hour workout is not an ideal summer morning, it is the greatest opportunity for teams to bond and push each other through the difficult training sessions.

“Everyone there is uplifting and pushes you constantly to be better the next time,” Feldman said.

Coaches and trainers take pre-summer and post-summer stats for agility and speed to track student growth as an athlete. This information allows students to put into perspective just how important these off-season workouts are.

“The growth of the athletes during the summer helps us prepare for tryouts in August.” Head volleyball coach Kenley Buckholt said.

The summer program involves a “four-day total body athletic development experience involving strength training speed development agility and change of direction,” according to strength and conditioning coach Monte Sparkman.

Training during the summer is, overall, the biggest opportunity for growth mentally and physically as an athlete and helps athletes to better prepare for their upcoming season as well as to bond teams prior to the new school year.