Although it’s only October, this school year has been zipping by. Before we know it, spring will arrive, and so will the sports that accompany it. Athletes take their off-season to build new skills and polish them off before their upcoming season. Spring, at Rochester High School, is filled with many sports like track, baseball, and tennis. One sport in particular that has athletes getting a head start is lacrosse.

Lacrosse is a sport that requires a lot of agility, endurance, and skill. It’s a very competitive sport that’s fast-moving. Lacrosse is a game between two teams, each with ten players on the field, that carry sticks with webbed netting that holds the ball and passes it down the field. Rochester High School’s boy’s and girl’s lacrosse teams are self-funded and successful. That’s why the off-season is very important so the athletes can prepare themselves for the upcoming self-funded season. Maintaining a routine is very important for student-athletes. Keeping one helps to build healthier habits, higher productivity, create a healthy structure, and can cause less stress in a person’s life. Vivian Schultz shared her pre-season routine. She says she plays, “twice a week at the wall behind the stadium or field behind the baseball fields after school or mornings on weekends.“ Another lacrosse player, Evan Crowe, shared his pre-season routine too, “Probably like three or four days a week at my house or I go to the field at seven or eight o’clock.” A workout routine can help to enhance your mood, keep your brain healthy, and increase strength and performance. Not only do they have routines but also specific drills they like to focus on. Vivian Schultz, lacrosse defenseman, said, “I do shooting drills, I do defender drills with my brother, and some passing drills with other girls.” Constantly incorporating familiar drills in a routine helps to build comfortability and advances those skills. 

Starting a routine is easier than keeping it up. When interviewed, these athletes were asked the question: what everyday issues affect their motivation to maintain these routines? Ethan Crowe and Vivian Schultz both said that school affects their incentive to practice the most. Although school is very important to anyone’s education, it is draining. Going home tired doesn’t help increase motivation. However, it’s important to keep up a strong, positive mindset to stick to your schedule. Northwestern Medicine stated, “An effective routine can help reduce stress, which can lead to better mental health, more time to relax, and less anxiety.” Not only does an off-season routine help to build athletes’ skills, but also improves their mindsets. Having specific goals in mind can also help to keep a driven mindset.

Goals motivate athletes to work harder and they’re like the shining light at the end of the tunnel for the player to focus on reaching. In lacrosse, it’s important to keep a goal in mind so you can enhance and change your performance. Lacrosse is a very competitive sport so a player needs to keep improving to stand out. When Ethan Crowe was asked about his goals for this upcoming season, he stated that it was “To break the school record for save percentage and break the state record for the most saves in a season.” However, goals look different for various people. Vivian Schultz said that her goal was, “winning more, getting my girls more hyped and believing themselves more.” If you accomplish a goal it’s good to make another and keep up the motivation.

All in all, off-season routines for lacrosse athletes are different depending on the person and their position. Also, maintaining a healthy off-season routine for lacrosse players can help to enhance skills, build motivation, and improve mental health. All of these qualities help to better lacrosse players so they can be the best versions of themselves on and off the field whether it’s off-season or not.