In years past, Emery sports teams would start practicing one week or two weeks before the season’s first game. However, this year, players are expected to participate year-round in off-season programs such as conditioning and weightlifting. Assistant Athletic Director Samuel Castello boasts these new implementations saying, “If we want to be a competitive athletic department, we need to step it up with the offseason workouts.” In theory, this sounds great, but how do players feel this extra commitment? 

These workouts are often early in the morning or after school, which results in student-athletes having less free time. “It is tough now, but we know it will be worth it later in the season,” says Varsity Girls Soccer and Volleyball captain Blythe Mogil. 

Many offseason workouts occur early in the morning or right after school, meaning students will have to find “a balance with academics,” as Castello puts it. 

Before this change, few sports had these rigorous offseason workouts, but the ones that have, have seen success. For example, the football program has always had these intense workouts during the offseason and, as a result, has seen much improvement in the strength of their teams in past years. The athletic department hopes to share this commitment and rigor with the rest of Emery’s sports teams and gain the same level of success.

The off-season workouts have also provided an opportunity for team bonding. Varsity Soccer Captain Sammy Berman says, “The more time we spend together prepping for the season, the more prepared we will be, and the more team chemistry we will have.” Mogil reflects on this idea by saying that the hope is that these off-season workouts will “help us compete at a higher level during the season.”

Castello notes that being in one of the toughest districts in all of Texas comes with its challenges, as “the teams we compete against all have year-round off-season lifting and practices. “With this new off-season mentality, coaches will provide Emery athletes with equal opportunities as the other athletes in our district. While we may not see results immediately, as our offseason programs build and more athletes participate in year-round athletics, the Emery Athletic Department ultimately hopes to increase its notoriety as a powerhouse in the district.