Preseason: the time at the beginning of the season before any games/matches/etc, where the coach gets to torture the team with 3-a-days, and the struggle is real for the team. Preseason is also the time when you get to spend time with your teammates 24/7 and when you reconsider your decision to play whatever sport like 10 times a day. But in the end, when preseason is done and over with, you love your sport. Here's a list of five things that happen during preseason.
1. Lack of sleep
In between your numerous practices a day you must decide between unpacking your room, napping, or eating. This year we had our first practice at 8AM-10AM and our last practice at 8PM-10PM. It was awful. I play volleyball so it's indoors, and all of the other fall sports are outdoors, therefore their practices are early early before it gets too hot out.
2. Food is life.
Although it’s cafe food, that food is your best friend in preseason. And you cannot stop eating it and you count down how long until you get to eat again. During my preseason this year, all of our off time was scheduled around our eating times. Most of the time, I would eat like 10 meals a day, and I am not kidding.
3. The soreness.
Holy crap, every daily activity is a struggle: getting into bed, showering, sitting down, even going to the bathroom. Not to mention going up stairs or going to your other practices. It's kind of funny during preseason when you see all of the other athletes on campus waddling around campus because they can't walk correctly due to how sore they are.
4. You realize how much you missed your team.
You come into the season and you spend everyday with your team and then once the season ends, sometimes you don't see them till it's season again. So preseason is a great way to reconnect, bond, and suffer as a whole.
5. You get to meet new friends (aka the freshmen).
New people are always the best parts about preseason because they’re more automatic friends and each team always gets new freshmen each season. In high school I never noticed how much of an impact the freshmen made to the team because it was always split up in varsity and junior varsity and in college it is all one team so the freshmen (and transfers if there are any) make a huge difference. New people equals new personalities, new friends, and new skills to add to the team.
Overall, preseason is a fun time for every team. It may not seem like it during preseason but looking back it's so much fun. Being on campus with only the athletes (and Residence life staff), being able to hangout with your team all day, playing the sport you love, and the beginning of a new school year and season, is so worth being tortured with conditioning and running all day.
