While winter sports tryouts took place last week, preparation for the upcoming season began earlier on Oct. 17. With the Fall season coming to an end, swimming and basketball coaches opened practice sessions for athletes who wanted pre-season training.

Swimming coaches offered some training sessions over the weeks prior to tryouts: Oct. 17, Oct. 24, and Oct 26. “The swim coaches wanted to give the athletes a chance to get the feel of the water,” Danika Derekson, varsity swim coach, said. “Also, we wanted to foster a sense of teamwork and resilience before the start of the season.”

These training sessions provided opportunities for new members to get a sense of the intensity of practices before committing to the sport. Even more, these sessions allowed interactions between the new and old members of sports. 

“For the basketball team, we held training sessions during activity school and after school, doing drills related to fundamental basketball skills like shooting and real-game situations,” Yura Yoon (11), varsity basketball player, said. “Also, the girls team remained engaged even during the offseason as the team members have been running nine km every week in preparation for the season.”

The boys basketball team also held an open gym after school for any high school basketball players. During the session, athletes from various grades split into four teams and played full-court basketball. 

These training sessions have seen some success. “On the first two sessions only one person came, but on the third session we had six swimmers show up,” Ms. Derekson said. The girls basketball team also had around 15 players showing up for after-school scrimmages. 

Though these preseason opportunities aren’t deciding factors for coaches, they allow athletes to connect with each other, communicate with the coaches, and understand the general atmosphere.