By Hadley Nussbaum ’24
It’s fall, which means not only are fall sports occurring on campus, but preseason practices are beginning for some of the winter sports. Boys basketball, boys hockey, and girls hockey are officially starting their preseason.
The Linen Rink is now up and running. Monday through Friday evenings, there is open skate for the boys and girls hockey team, rotating each night. These skates are optional, but the majority of the teams show up because it’s great practice for the fast-approaching hockey season. While these practices aren’t taken very seriously, it’s a good warm up for the season and a fun way to spend the evening. Not only is it great practice for the athletes, but it’s a good time all around. Music is playing in the rink, and the practices are open for anyone to watch and cheer on their friends.
The boys basketball team practices every Tuesday and Thursday night. Their preseason practices are usually more intense than that of the hockey teams. This is because on Tuesdays college scouts come to watch them scrimmage. I have attended several of these practices, and it’s impressive to see how hard the boys work in preseason. They are about an hour long just like the hockey skates. Sometimes in the morning, the boys’ coach, Dr. Konik, makes them practice or run for extra conditioning. The basketball team will definitely be in shape and prepared for the season ahead.
Preseason is a lot of work, and I think the athletes practicing deserve to be commended. Not only do most of these athletes play a fall sport, but they are also practicing for their winter sports on the same day. In the end, the hard work put in before the season will pay off in the incoming winter season.
