Acorn

Issue date: 11/12/06 Section: Sports

As fall sports end, many athletes begin the transition to play different games.

Sports like soccer, field hockey and cross country reach their final games of the season, while the basketball and fencing seasons begin.

Athletes undergo changes in weight training and mental preparation. This becomes more difficult than it sounds when added to the pressures of keeping up with schoolwork, the athletes said.

Sophomore Ann Mularz, senior Genie Valantassis and freshman Kelsey Haught will shift gears from one sport to the next. Goalkeeper Mularz and forward Valantassis play soccer in the fall, but arrive at Drew before the school year starts for preseason.

"There's preseason training for two weeks before the season," Mularz said. "It's not really training so much as it is fine-tuning your muscles."

The soccer season begins in September, and basketball pre-season begins in October.

This causes a scheduling conflict because practices for both sports tend to coincide.

"I kind of wish we had a longer period to rest in between the two sports," Valantassis said. "The switch is jarring since we become used to playing 90-minute games."

The two soccer players work all the more once their soccer season ends. Mularz's position as a goalkeeper gives her an advantage with quick movements.

As a forward, Valantassis is used to running for a long period of time.

"Two of the skills from soccer which really help are my hand-eye coordination and endurance," Mularz said.

There are also differences between the two sports.

The speed of basketball requires adjustments for the two soccer players.

"The pace of a soccer game is a bit slower, compared to basketball," Valantassis said. "In basketball, every player is constantly moving around the ball at all times." Possession of the ball changes in an instant. One turnover is all it takes to change a victory into a loss.

The same is not possible for soccer, because the ball cannot travel the length of the field without advance warning.

Both players commented on the difference between the timing of both games.

"It's hard getting used to the different style of running, and the different types of surfaces," Mularz said. "We're used to running on the turf of the soccer field, not the linoleum of the basketball court."

"Running [in basketball] is a lot harder than soccer," Valantassis said. "Soccer is more about short-distance sprinting, where basketball is more about endurance over a long time. The first week of practice was pretty tough, but it got better."

Haught is a member of the swimming and equestrian teams.

The two sports require different muscle training.

"For the swimming team, we practice every day for two hours in October, since the meets don't begin until November," Haught said. "For the equestrian team, we have lessons for a week. It's a varsity sport, so we have to work out in the gym three times a week and document the times of our workouts."

The swimming and equestrian seasons overlap, leaving no chance of a break in between sports.

Haught said she preferred it this way.

She has found a balance between the demands of both sports and her classes.

"It's my choice, because I really enjoy both sports," Haught said. "Sometimes, the work catches up to me and I feel really tired, but the team keeps me motivated. In the end, I'm glad I'm doing it. You just have to get plenty of sleep and eat healthy to keep your energy up."

Mularz, Valantassis and Haught are three of the many students who play more than one varsity sport during the school year.

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