MOVE

Springing ahead

Spring athletes start to train earlier in the year to get a head start By Robin Ziegemeier Staff Reporter The lights flicker in the weight room early on Monday morning as the girls soccer team walks in to begin their workout. The girls pair off into groups of two or three and claim stations. Senior Paige Butterfield heads over to a power bar and adds the weights onto the ends. Once the weight is to her satisfaction, she begins to do a set of squats as her partner watches on.

Before and after school, the weight room is a hub of activity, as athletes across all different sports train to be the best they can be. While training for spring sports officially started in January, for dedicated athletes such as senior Brice Miller, training can start as early as September.

“Season training started in January, but I’ve been training since September, so I’ve already been in the groove,” Miller said.

To get a head start on the track and field season, Miller started training in September with other students, as well as a personal trainer to get himself settled in the routine before the season officially started. Along with getting used to a routine early on, starting his workouts early has also helped him build up the endurance needed for his events.

“I have been training with Quincy Morris and also have my own trainer. Also, I’ve been training by myself, so I’ve been keeping the same mindset,” Miller said.

Miller’s workout schedule is specific to the days of the week, and can sometimes depend on the weather. For example, on Mondays he typically works out in the weight room, while on Thursdays he takes a 30 minute run. On top of a specialized workout everyday, Miller also has a night routine to guarantee that he is in his best possible shape.

“Mondays I workout [in the weight room], on Tuesdays I run then I [do] lifting. On Wednesdays, it depends on how the weather is, but on Thursday [I] do a hard run day, so I’ll run for 30 minutes or I do like 500s,” Miller said. “[For my] night routine I do like push ups and crunches for 10 minutes and then calf raises or squats.”

Athletes from track and field are not the only ones getting a head start on conditioning for their sport. Senior Zach Baldi started his personal training for baseball during November. His workouts focus on isolating his main muscle groups to make himself stronger.

“I mainly hit on the main muscle groups, [and] try to hit all of them just to get strength and ready to roll,” Baldi said. “Usually I try to hit legs the most because that’s what I use when pitching.”

Along with personal training, teams such as the girls soccer team have also gotten a head start on training for their season. Butterfield reveals that the team started doing team workouts in November to increase their edge over other teams. “We [started at] the end of November, which is earlier than most schools. This year we’re definitely trying [to] get a head start getting fit for the season,” Butterfield said. The team has the weight room on Monday and Wednesday mornings, and does after school conditioning on Tuesdays and Thursdays to increase the girls’ endurance. The girls’ workouts include lifts such as squats and deadlifts, sprints and lunges.

“The morning workout is more weight [focused] so I do squats and deadlifts,” Butterfield said. “Tuesdays and Thursdays we do track workouts like sprints [and] maybe some lunges.”

While the exact reasons for starting to train for spring sports early on vary, they all have one goal in mind: to get stronger. For Baldi, he uses preseason training to increase his chances for scholarships. “[Preseason training] gives me more of an opportunity to get looked at by college scouts and it improves my overall performance,” Baldi said.

Teams like Butterfield’s start their conditioning early on not only to improve their strength and endurance, but also to bond as a team.

“It definitely makes the start of the season easier. Just preparing ahead of time definitely gets you in the team aspect and pushing each other,” Butterfield said. “It makes you ready for the season, [and] have an advantage over other people, because with soccer, you have to be strong. We also have to have endurance because you’re playing for like 90 minutes, so it helps with that a lot.”

As seasonal tryouts creep ever closer, more athletes begin their training to give themselves the best chance they can get to make the teams they want.

September 2019: Brice Miller begins to train for Track and Field with Quincy Morris so he can be guaranteed to be in shape for the season.

November 2019: Zach Baldi starts to use the weight room in order to train his main muscle groups for the upcoming baseball season. Meanwhile, the girls soccer team begins to train as a group before the season starts.

January 2020: Mrs. Baize posts workouts for the students doing track and field. Atheltes from other sports also begin to train for the upcoming season.

March 2020: Tryouts for track and field, girls soccer, baseball, boys golf, girls lacrosse, boys volleyball and boys tennis begin.

VICTORY: Simpkins competed in the WKSA Kuk Sool Won Championship in Galveston, Texas. An official raises Simpkins’s arm, signaling his triumph over the opponent. PHOTO COURTESY OF JACOB SIMPKINS

The hectic schedule of martial arts leads to immense skill martial arts madness

By Kana Chung Copy Editor

A bead of sweat rolls down freshman Sophia Miller’s temple. Her breathing is sporadic and heavy. She and her opponent have passed the upper hand back and forth for nearly six grueling minutes. Before she knows it, her opponent knocks her onto her back, trapping her in a straight arm lock. As her arm is bent towards the mat, her face contorts into a grimace. The pain is excruciating. She’s ready to give up.

The level of physical strain required by a martial art is enough to bring most people to their breaking point. In fact, it’s moments like these that have made Miller, who has practiced jiu jitsu since sixth grade, question whether her commitment is worth the exhaustion.

“Sometimes, when you’re in a meet or something, you’re just like ‘I can’t do this anymore’,” Miller said. “But you just have to learn how to push through it.” Kuk sool won is a traditional Korean martial art that embodies all of the traditional Korean fighting arts, including traditional weapons training, with an emphasis on techniques and acrobatics. And although it is much different than jiu jitsu, which is a Japanese artform focused on throwing, trapping and holds, kuk sool won is just as tough on the mind and body. Jacob Simpkins, a sophomore who has practiced kuk sool won since first grade, believes that much of the difficulty in the sport relates to the dedication it requires. The time commitment in itself can make the sport feel exhausting at times.

“There’s definitely physical challenges, but there’s also a bunch of mental challenges,” Simpkins said. “Currently, I’m in a testing process for my black belt, and that takes two years. And so I’m hitting the end of that, and that burnout’s kicking in like ‘Ugh, I have to go to class.’” Not only is the longevity of martial arts daunting, but also the hours that it requires weekly. Freshman Emma Schultheis, who started jiu jitsu a year and a half ago, attends training at the UFC Gym -- the same facility as Miller -- several times a week.

“I usually go up there about three times a week. And sometimes I’ll go on the weekends,” Schultheis said.

Simpkins, who has become an instructor at his school -- Kuk Sool Won O’Fallon -- spends almost every day there. “I’m an instructor at my school, so I’m there every night I can be,” Simpkins said.

It would be extremely difficult to commit at the level these athletes do, if it weren’t for the love that they have for their respective artforms. Miller has seen jiu jitsu as a fun activity that makes her stronger by the day. “I think it’s just fun and nice to do, and it really brings people closer. And it shows that you know how to protect yourself

from anything,” Miller said.

Simpkins finds that kuk sool won has provided him with a way to relieve his mind of everyday stressors, and creates a new mentality.

“My favorite thing is just the attitude that comes with it; the discipline, getting to go there every day and have fun,” Simpkins said. “It is hard work, you still get the crap beat out of you, but that’s part of the fun. It’s just somewhere you can release yourself, and let yourself be happy, and be yourself.”

In addition to being a fun activity for recreation, practicing a martial art teaches a wide span of lessons that can be applied to life outside of training.

“I’ve learned a lot of discipline. How to handle myself with people, focus on things. It’s really helped keep me stay calm throughout life,” Simpkins said.

Schultheis has found that it makes her more patient, and has improved her overall self-image.

“[It’s taught me] patience, a lot of patience. I get along with people better, because you have to be more comfortable around people... you have to have more confidence in that,” Schiltheis said. “It becomes a lot easier, and you become a lot more okay with yourself.” And with immense dedication, comes deep attachment. After pursuing the sport for so long, Simpkins finds that the sense of familiarity it brings him is what keeps him coming back.

“When I got my black belt at my first place and had to restart, there was a lot of debating whether I should

continue or not, because I had to go back to where I started, but it’s totally worth it. Stick through it, it pays off in the end,” Simpkins said. “It keeps me grounded, gives me something to look forward to. It’s always been something that I’ve had positive in my life. It’s my happy place: somewhere I can go when I’m upset.”

Something that pushes Miller to constantly redefine her limits as an athlete is self-improvement: both physical and social.

“I think it keeps me more fit, and it definitely keeps me healthier,” Miller said. “I’ve learned how to stand up for myself and how to be a better person.”

Because of these benefits, despite the hardships she faces, Miller believes that all of her hard work will pay off in the end, and that belief is what she uses to persevere through the hard times.

“What keeps me going is that I know, in the end, it’s going to benefit me, and I’ll be happy. And I’ve worked so hard for it, why quit now?” Miller explained.

She thinks back to all of the hours she’s spent training, the countless moves she’s repeated time and time again, the encouragement she receives from her friends. She’s won’t tap out so easily. Her free arm tugs at her opponent’s leg, while she swings her leg out perpendicular to her body, allowing her just enough space to roll her back off of the ground. She slides out of the hold, to the back side of her opponent, managing to place them in a guillotine choke hold. The opponent taps out. She triumphs.