By Cory Tell ’14, Sports Section Editor

Most people around Newark Academy are well aware of the commitment and effort the athletes put into their sporting endeavors.  Teams practice for countless hours during the season, attempting to perfect their game and fix any areas of concern. Their seasons are evaluated by their performance in conference and county games, along with a variety of postseason tournaments that includes Preps and States. Parents and other students see practices and home games, so they have an understanding of what transpires during the season. What they may not see, however, are the untold hours athletes spend working out in the off-season. Legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, who led the Bruins to 10 NCAA National Championships from 1964 to 1975, said, “The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching. That’s how you reach your greatness.” This begs the question: What do Newark Academy students do before the season in order to prepare themselves for competition and achieve this desired greatness?

Many Newark Academy students use the school’s weight room to improve their strength and endurance during the off-season. The gym allows many athletes to maintain the fitness that they have during the season. The weight room gives students a place to increase muscle mass, allowing them to become stronger while improving balance and stability. For example, a strong core is essential in baseball, as players need to have power in their swings. A strong core is also vital for a swimmer who wants to move through the water as quickly as possible. In sports like football and wrestling, the stronger and tougher team often determines who is victorious. The weight room is certainly not limited to athletes from one sport. Max Fletcher, Newark Academy’s weight room trainer, recognizes the benefits of the gym, and is happy to see a large number of Newark Academy students coming into the weight room in their off-season. Max tells athletes, “What the off-season program is going to do, at the least, is maintain whatever strength you gained before. If you aren’t playing a sport at the time, you should be in the weight room trying to gain as much muscle mass as possible to achieve maximum strength. Improving cardio during the off-season pays dividends later. Sometimes you won’t see the big improvement until the next off-season when you start lifting again, and then you will see the significant jump that every athlete wants. It’s a long-term, gradual process that starts in the off-season.” The crowded fitness center suggests that many students are recognizing Max’s idea that the “best time to begin to get quicker and stronger is in the weight room, during the off-season.”

A multitude of Newark Academy athletes also play on club or academy teams outside of school. These teams allow players to improve in both a competitive and instructional atmosphere. Sydney Persing, who participates in club fencing, said, “Aside from the fact that club fencing allows me to continually fence in the offseason, I get to fence really talented fencers four times a week, which helps me get really good for the season. Plus, I get to condition and take lessons four times a week.” Many Newark Academy athletes also use club or academy teams to supplement their high school season for college recruiting, as many schools like to see student-athletes playing year-round. Cillian Connor, a Colby College lacrosse recruit, said, “I really started to get noticed when I was playing club lacrosse in the fall of my junior year. I had been emailing coaches a lot, some of whom had seen me play and some who had not. That fall, my club team went to the best tournaments, and I was able to impress a couple of coaches. Most of my college offers came during the summer going prior to my senior year, and club lacrosse obviously really helped with the recruiting process.”

People around the Newark Academy community see the final product of dedicated training on the field during competition. Athletes do a tremendous amount of work in the weight room and on the practice field in the off-season to ensure that they can play up to their maximum capability on game day. As Coach Wooden said, It is truly when “when no one is watching” where Newark Academy athletics sets a foundation for achieving greatness.