According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, participation in activities increased by more than 200,000 in the 2024-25 school year. Joining a sport is an excellent way to learn valuable life lessons, including communication, responsibility, accountability, and respect. All of which should be mutual between athletes and their coaches.
Discussion is an everyday tool. It’s extremely important for an instructor to communicate with their team and vice versa. Riley Cook, senior, has had a positive experience with her basketball coaches. “If something is going on, the coaches will bring it up to the whole team and have a group discussion about it,” Cook expanded. She also said,” If people are gone, it’s usually communicated.” Without talking to one another, a team wouldn’t be successful, and when an athlete chooses not to communicate, it can be frustrating for everyone involved.
There’s only so much a trainer can do; the rest is up to the athlete. A good coach will want to push a student to their full potential while also knowing when a break is needed. Ari Groothuis, sophomore, believes that at a certain point, an athlete’s constant excuses are just hurting themselves. “At the end of the day, it’s how much work you want to put in to get your results. The coaches can’t really change that,” said Groothuis. Of course, not every absence is a student not wanting to be fully committed. Groothuis mentioned there was one week he was gone from practices due to a family funeral, but he kept in touch with his wrestling coaches, Joe Swanson and Jason Haag, who were understanding. He came back to practice and was ready to work for it. There’s a big difference between skipping or making excuses not to go and actually having a genuine reason, such as sickness, injury, or family-related events. Whatever’s going on, be honest and communicate.
Winter break is for students to spend time with family and friends while getting some time to breathe. Constant practices and piles of schoolwork can be extremely draining. Not to mention holidays like Christmas and New Year’s are also celebrated. It can be upsetting to have a break cut short due to practices. Pete Messerli, boys’ basketball varsity coach, wants to keep his players in shape while maintaining a good balance between rest and training. “We had really good practices over break. We did a lot of running. We had to get back in game shape after having a week off. The kids battled through that despite it being hard and probably not fun for them. I think they realize that it’s necessary to do. Really positive attitudes overall,” stated Messerli. He held six two-hour practices during the break after giving his athletes a week’s rest.
Overall, mutual respect is key. Athletes need to communicate with their coaches just as much as instructors need to communicate with them. One needs to be accountable not just to oneself but also to the team and leaders. The hard work put in at practices will be worth it.
