*\-V it to the Limit

• JenniferR. Hale

The

memorize all theplaystothesmallestdetailand make them such apartoftheirminds thatthey don'teven have tothink on thecourtorfieldtomake theirbodies respond theway they should.

Probably theone main thing every team has in common is thatits members practice. Often. They live, eat, sleep and breathe theirsport. Sometimes, inthemidst ofall thecompetition, it's hard tofit practiceintotheschedule. Duringits season, thebaseballteam plays games almost every day.

"We trytohave one day during theweek justfor practice,"Head Coach Johnny Hunton says "We keep notesof things thatarenot good and discuss our mistakes so, when we do geta chance topractice, we can work on them."

Each team is limitedby theNCA A astohow much time it can spend inpracticeeach season. Coaches areonly allowed torequire20hours each week from theirplayers,including games,practicesand conditioning

Coaches make themost ofthe20hours,however,with a largevariety ofdrills and techniques worked on ineachsport

Head Track & Field Coach Dr Brant Tolsma has invented machinery tohelp outhispolevaulters.

• Seeing poor lay-uppercentages,Coach JeffMeyer ranthe men's basketballteam through drills tohelpthem concentrate on thehoop whilebody contact is made SeniorMatt Hildebrand runsthrough oneof thedrillswithCoach. Practice in any sportcontinuesthroughout theseason.

•The competitionteam practices afronttuckcradle, throwingSenior StephanieReffnerhighintotheair Inadditiontotheroutinesofthe varsityand JV cheerleading squads,members ofthe competitionsquad workon techniquestosubmitavideowith hopeofbeingselectedforthe nationalcompetitioninSan Diego.

Runners on thetrackteam sprintup the hill behind themansion,dragging tires behind them, orjump up thesand-filled stepsnextto Hancock

The wrestling team runs formiles over the mountains aspartofits practiceroutine.

The importance ofpractice, Head Tennis Coach Dr. CarlDiemer says, is"to prepare physically, emotionally and mentally for match play."

There'smore topractice thanjustphysically pounding your body intosubmission.The way you practice affectstheway you play a game.

"Good practicebreeds confidence Bad practicebreeds insecurity,"Track Coach Aaron James says

Some teams do drillsspecifically tobuild teamspirit. During the off-season, the footballteam starts < Coaches are only practice at5:30 every Thursday morning. allowedby NCAAto Players run together, building not only speed spend22 weeks per and agilitybut alsoa sense ofunity yearwith baseball "It helpsbuild togetherness," Shawn players. Inorderto Davis,sophomore defensive back, said. keep their hitting Whether theathletespends hours ina instincts sharp, batting cage orruns the same hill dozensof players must timesinsuccession, it all contributes tothe practicethe restof final product—the game What happens on the yearon their thefieldreflectswhat happens inthose hours ownin batting spentpreparing,and the athleteshere work to cages. make sure the reflectionis good.

< The wrestling team enjoyed practiceas it acquired anew room twicethesize oftheoldone with twiceas many floor mats Wrestlers Aaron Sarra and Kenny Lightner demonstrate a difficultmove inthe new room

Scoring thewinningrun. Sinking thewinningshot. Wanting it with everythingthat is inyou and achieving it through a superhumaneffort. Sprinting acrossthefinish line with your hands held high because Go d gave you your legs and you use them to win and you win toglorify Him. Pressing on toward themark becausethe team is counting on you and you arecounting on theteam and you all want the final victory. Knowing thatglory isn't always first place, but sometimes it is second placeor no place at all. Breaking all therecordsand achieving all thegoalsbecause thatis what you have been trained to do.