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Day in the Life of a Spring Athlete

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Regina Baker

Nicole Simms poses out in the spring weather.

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Megan Charles
March 25, 2010
Filed under Sports

 Waking up early every morning for school seems more of a chore for high school students. For athletes, it’s the start of an exciting day ahead. As students sit in school waiting for the day to be over, athletes count down the time until their game begins. Being an athlete has a lot of responsibilities, such as eating right, working hard, and especially dedication. Spring has just sprung and the spring athletes are getting back into the swing of things.

 Junior, Nicole Simms, runs track in the spring time. Nicole told me what exactly her daily routine was from sunrise to sundown on the day of a track meet.

  • Wake up
  • Take a cold shower to wake up all of her muscles
  • Eat oatmeal for fiber
  • Put on her track uniform
  • Head to school
  • Sit through school
  • Think about track and the meet ahead
  • Meet the team at the track
  • Talk about the events their each running

-If it’s a home meet: help set up the events

-If it’s an away meet: get on the bus and listen to music to get mentally prepared

  • Compete
  • Eat dinner
  • Shower
  • Stretch
  • Go to bed

  Mentally preparing before a game or a meet is especially important. Nicole said, “I listen to music and keep to myself so that I can just focus on track and what my job is.” Meet days have many exciting things about them, whether it’s mentally preparing yourself or just wearing your jersey to school. “I love running when I get in my blocks and look down the lane. Time stops and it’s just me and the one race,” Nicole stated to be her favorite part about meet days.

 Junior, Spencer Hockaday has been playing baseball for years. Baseball takes a lot of practice, strength, teamwork, and especially doing your individual part. Everyone knows that boys and girls handle things in many different ways. Like Nicole, Spencer also told me his daily routine on days of a baseball game.

  • Wake up
  • Take a hot shower to wake him up
  • Eat a banana for potassium and take his vitamins
  • Get uniform ready
  • Get dressed
  • Come to school
  • Sleep during school
  • Listen to music and keep to himself
  • Team dinner
  • Go out to the field and throw
  • Game time
  • Clean up the field
  • Go out to eat
  • Shower
  • Go to bed

 Both Nicole and Spencer agreed that listening to music helps get them pumped before a game and helps them focus on the game. Spencer said, “My favorite part about game days is knowing that after I sit through school I’ll be able to be on that field playing again.”

 According to Healthy Eats, “Athletes should eat throughout the day to keep energy levels high — aiming to eat something every 3 to 4 hours.” Eating right and eating at all plays a big part in being an athlete. Food is fuel and without it, your energy tank would be on empty. Now that you know what it takes to be a spring athlete and the dedication of your time, try out next spring and join the excitement!

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