Tennis bounces into offseason
Conditioning started on the week of October 17 for the boys, and the girls started the week of November 7. It is a way for each player to build a higher level of toughness than other schools in the state. Although they wake up at 5:00 a.m., after conditioning, the players feel relaxed and focused for the day ahead.
With the girls season wrapped up, both boys and girls teams will participate in before-school conditioning on the mornings of Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:00 to 6:30 a.m.
Conditioning consists of leg work, foot work, and agility. Showing up is not mandatory but is recommended. Waking up at 5:00 a.m. may be a struggle, but doing so helps to stay in shape for the next season.
“Morning conditioning has really helped me on the tennis court. I feel a lot faster and I feel like I have more stamina,” said Brendan Flangon, 9.
The first thing they do is running two laps around the gym. Next they jump rope for five minutes, starting with both legs for one minute, then fifteen seconds of each leg.
“I like the jump roping; once the five minutes are up, you can feel the burn, and it definitely helps on the court,” said Danny Polasky, 10.
After doing this, they move into one minute stations of cones, wall sits, ladders, hurtles, etc.; once all of that is done, the boys and girls split up and do three to five minutes of push-ups.
The last thing they do is sprints that consist of sprinting, shuffles, skips, etc.
“Being one of the captains for the boys, I get extremely pumped when more people show up, especially underclassmen. I want the future of Sycamore tennis to have as much success as I have had,” said Noah Stern, 12.
