Students woke up excited on Friday, Feb. 16 knowing that it would be their last early morning wake up for a week because that was the final school day before Mid-Winter Break.
Mid-Winter Break was held through the week of Feb. 18. Students had plans of going on tropical or snowy vacations for the week. However, many of these students and their families had to stay in town with athletic commitments for Carlmont’s Winter and Spring sports.
Some of the sports that had practices or games throughout the break were swimming, soccer, basketball, track, cheer, lacrosse, and baseball.
Varsity Baseball player Aidan Woodring said, “Practice was held Monday through Saturday for two to four hours. If we were to miss these practices, there would be consequences.”
Practice schedule differed between the sports. Girls’ varsity soccer had two practices Monday and Tuesday for two hours and a CCS game on Wednesday at Saint Ignatius. The girls’ varsity basketball team had practice Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday with CCS games on Wednesday and Saturday. Swim had two-hour long practices Monday through Saturday with two practices on Monday and Thursday. Carlmont’s cheer squad went to Las Vegas for a national competition.
Carlmont Athletic Director Patrick Smith said, “Being an athlete means putting in extra time outside of the normal school day, which includes spending time after school, on Saturdays, and during breaks practicing and playing games. Playing sports is an option that a student chooses to do. With that choice comes sacrifice so that the individual athlete and team as a whole can better and become a more cohesive unit. Student-athletes are well aware of these factors when they decide to participate on a team.”
Not only were sports teams practicing during the break, they traveled as a team competing and representing Carlmont.
A member of the cheer squad Alexandra Velschow said,“We went to the competition from Thursday to Sunday. It definitely took away from having a break, but it was fun.”
While some student athletes felt that practices interfered with their break and relaxation, but others found it as a nice way to spend time.
Nicholas Chao, a student on the swim team, said, “Swimming relaxes me, so it didn’t really bother me that much to have practice. It did get in the way a little with my plans, but it was alright.”
Overall, student athletes did not get time to rest their bodies and de-stress due to the demanding hours sports pressed on their schedule through Mid-Winter Break.
Member of the varsity lacrosse team, Gianna Westmoreland said, “Over break, I would usually feel rested, but when we had practice, it took away from feeling rested because we would be working hard for two hours every day. I would end up feeling tired when I woke up the next day.”
