With winter sports gearing up for their seasons, Thanksgiving break, which gives students Nov. 21-23 off of school, has created a small obstacle in planning practice for coaches.
Carlmont winter sports include boys and girls soccer, boys and girls basketball, and co-ed wrestling. All of their seasons have begun, since tryouts on Oct. 29.
Wrestling coach Brad Ramezane practices at Sequoia High School with his team.
“We aren’t really holding practice past Wednesday morning,” Ramezane said.
Practicing over school holidays can have good effects, like more practice and less after-school commitments.
However, there can also be difficulties with students traveling or possibly students just skipping practice because they are on break.
Some students feel as though athletes should be showing up to practices over school holidays.
Jonathan Su, a sophomore, plays on the JV boys basketball team. This is his second year playing for Carlmont.
“I think it is important to have practices during holidays because it shows your coaches your commitment to the team,” Su said.
Some teams, like varsity girls soccer, are in need of a practice. Due to poor air quality, they have had no real practices as a complete team thus far, with the only time playing together being tryouts.
Varsity coach John Wilkinson will be holding normal 2-hour practices over the break, excluding Thanksgiving.
“I think it depends on the length on the break,” Wilkinson said. “It’s harder for the younger kids especially because they don’t control their schedules, their parents do.”
For Carlmont’s varsity football team, their season has continued after their triumph over Willow Glen in the first round of the CCS playoffs. This was their first playoff victory in 28 years.
The team will continue practicing on Wednesday because of their next game on Friday.
Brandon Greco, a sophomore, said, “I think it’s important to have practice, especially now when our team is doing so well. We are trying to make our team the best out there, so I think it’s important to get all the practice we can.”
Some of the JV players have been moved up onto varsity for playoffs, making the team larger and giving it more security in case of injuries.
With the recent air quality, many football practices have been canceled, leaving teams no time to learn to function as one unit. Pre-season games have already started for some teams.
With playoffs and pre-season games fast approaching, Thanksgiving break may be the only time for teams to practice together.
