Around Christmas time, students at South may find themselves not having much to do, with snow taking away many outdoor activities. Because they can only handle so much homework at once, kids are left doom-scrolling or binge-watching the latest movies and series. Todd Hunter, a South track and field coach who focuses on sprinting events, is aware of the lack of activities available to students around winter time, especially physically active events. In hopes of improving the team while increasing physical activity, he offers workouts on your own time and other events to start the year off right.
“Track season is only a little more than two months long,” Hunter said. “If I can start preparing for the season early then it allows the team further development during the season.”
However, Track and Field is not the only Spring team to start early. Luke Parent ‘26, a future varsity goalie, has had workouts in the weight room since late November. With big hopes for next year’s season, Parent makes it a priority to attend as many workouts as possible.
“I’m happy that we were able to get some gym space even though it’s later at night,” Parent said. “With similar places like Neighborhood Club costing a ton, it helps to be able to work out for free.”
Baseball is also taking a step earlier than usual by providing their first meetings earlier than usual and trying to get a sense of what the team consists of even before the season begins. Jack Danielewicz ‘26, a first-year varsity pitcher, found it helpful to get a sense of the season earlier to plan out family events.
“Usually we don’t find out our rough schedule until only a few weeks before tryouts,” Danielewicz said. “Now getting a few months of planning time allows me and my family to plan things like weekend tournaments and things like that around my schedule and allows me to be available for more games.”
With many sports finishing last year strong and a lot of seniors leaving for college. Coaches are maintaining those expectations if not raising them leaving many students at South to have to step up and improve fast. Knowing the season earlier allows student-athletes to train how they play and know what they’re going against sooner.
“Even though we lost a ton of kids to college and injury last year I’m confident that we can succeed,” Hunter said. “I know the now senior kids can step up and be role models for the younger kids on the team and we can not only match last year’s performance but be even better.”
