Fall sports are wrapping up for the year, and athletes are planning on what to do next. For most sports, there is lots of downtime in between seasons, and while the rest may seem nice at times, for many athletes, the off-season is a curse, not a blessing.
Some may feel like the winter training opportunity is limited due to a lack of communication between coaches or winter programs. However, the drive for athletic improvement overrides the time put into finding and training with programs during the off-season. South football coach Chad Hepner feels that winter conditioning is important for each and every athlete on his team, no matter who it may be.
“In the off-season, we really utilize the practices that the state allows in the summer, but in the winter and spring it’s primarily strength training,” Hepner said. “We are really focused on our strength, our mobility, and some individual skills.”
Not only is it visible when players train during the off-season, but it is just as evident when they don’t. Hepner stresses how the lack of dedication to a player’s sport in between seasons can have a lasting effect on their performance.
“Every year we have some players that really embrace the way they can transform themselves into bigger, stronger, more effective players,” Hepner said. “We have other players who don’t show up [during winter conditioning], and then they show up the next year and they’re the same type of player they were the year before. Often those are the players who don’t get a whole lot of playing time.”
Hepner believes it is very important for underclassmen to look ahead and understand the importance of their training for the future. Sebastian Bukoveć ’28 is committed to training whenever he can so he can reach his potential playing soccer for South.
“I’ve always understood that it’s important for me to not slow down in between seasons,” Bukoveć said. “Especially when I know there are other players who want it just as bad as me.”
Keeping up during the winter keeps players competing with any opponents, and also can take them to the next level. College football commits and South cornerback Noah Hart ’25 recognizes the steps he took while not playing for South, and how that hard work helped get him where he is today.
“Really lock in during the winter,” Hart said. “Try to get in the weight room, eat more, and start talking to college coaches if you’re really trying to go to a D1 school or any other level of college football.”
