NGU athletes stay on the grind as they head into the summer
Andrew Davidson, Sports Writer
With the semester just about wrapped up, North Greenville University students are packing up and headed home for the summer. The athletes are headed home as well, but being a college athlete means there are no days off.
Everyone sees the work NGU athletes put on the court or field, but not many know the work that goes in during the off season too. Every team puts in work 24/7 including over the summer.
Emmanuel Adames, junior, is on the men’s volleyball team and believes that off-season training is crucial to performance during the season.
“So, the way I see it, training off season is a way to prepare my body for the beating we get during the season. It’s important to get my body ready cause: one, I can optimize my physical abilities and endurance, and two, at the end of the day the body has more resistance,” said Adames.
When he is not with his team over the summer, Adames does a lot of training by himself, or with old teammates at home in Puerto Rico.
“During off-season I work a lot on my body. That means gym every day, sometimes twice a day. I play beach volleyball almost every other day and at least two big tournaments. Once off-season is coming to an end, I have specialized practices in order to be ready for preseason,” said Adames.
According to Adames, off-season training pays off.
“Summer and off-season works. It gives the body time to rest and renew itself. If taken seriously, it upgrades a player. I was faster on the court, jumping higher, I was swinging harder, I was more conscious in the things I was doing, and over all I had more confidence,” said Adames.
Colin Karhu, sophomore, is a kicker on the football team. He and his teammates spend most of their off-season time in the gym as well.
“Some things me and my teammates do over the summer is stay active in the gym and weight room. We practice our own position too, so we are ready for when fall camp arrives for the season,” said Karhu.
According to Karhu, the work you put in over the off-season is not just pivotal to improving yourself, but also to not lose what you have gained in the past.
“The off-season training is important because if you don’t train in the off-season, all the progress you made during the season will be lost.
Junior Zak Perdew on the men’s basketball team spends most of his summer training as well.
“Personally, I have a routine when I’m at home where I do a weight training session in the morning, then at some point in the afternoon after work I will get in a basketball workout. I just do that all summer long,” said Perdew.
Every athlete at NGU is committed to athletic excellence on and off the court, in and out of season. Regardless of classes, work or any other aspect of college life, every athlete is dedicated to preparing for their next season.
