Like most college students, we started the week off by simply going through the motions. It was one of those weeks that we were just trying to get over with; one of those weeks where getting out of bed each morning could be considered a monumental achievement. Everything hurt, everything ached, and we were all exceptionally tired.
Between long nights spent studying for (and stressing over) exams, early morning classes, difficult practices and constantly rushing from one place to another, our energy was practically nonexistent. For us freshmen in particular, the life of a college athlete was starting to take its toll. We were literally sick and tired. Now, I am not a morning person, nor have I ever claimed to be a morning person. And judging by how we all stumble out of our rooms in the morning looking like death warmed over, I'm sure I'm not alone in my sentiments.
With the team already feeling burnt out and a whole week still ahead of us, it seemed nothing short of an IV full of caffeine would get us through each day. But Terps being Terps, we carried on like brave, racket-wielding warriors. Albeit, tired, cranky and seriously sleep-deprived warriors.
I can tell you from experience that nothing brings a team together like the combined effort to avoid running sprints... and nothing cures constipation quite like having balls shot at you while you're at the net.
Despite how tough these sort of practices can be, it's meant to be getting us ready to play more difficult matches and to refine our great warrior skills. Personally, I think we're partaking in some ancient tribal ritual meant to cull out the weaker ones as a sacrificial pre-game offering to Testudo... but that's just me.
Unfortunately, if we thought that the week had been difficult, we were in for an even harder weekend. To put it simply, on Saturday, we lost our footing... and then proceeded to make quite a marvelous landing on our backsides. The coaches took us aside afterwards and gave us a speech that was both extremely motivational and deeply inspiring.
Unfortunately, I can't recall the exact conversation, but I do know that the words "6 a.m." and "sprints" were used repeatedly...
On Sunday, we were finally able work together as a team to turn things around. We won of course, and afterwards we had a celebratory meal which consisted of sandwiches and more than enough junk food to make up for all of our extra effort. What can I say? Victory is sweet...both literally, and figuratively.
If anything, the matches on Saturday brought us closer together as a team, and I hope I speak for everybody when I say that I'm proud of the us. We may not have 'blitzed' the Spiders or held up our "spotless home record", but in the end, we came out better for it. And after all, that's what counts.
Between long nights spent studying for (and stressing over) exams, early morning classes, difficult practices and constantly rushing from one place to another, our energy was practically nonexistent. For us freshmen in particular, the life of a college athlete was starting to take its toll. We were literally sick and tired. Now, I am not a morning person, nor have I ever claimed to be a morning person. And judging by how we all stumble out of our rooms in the morning looking like death warmed over, I'm sure I'm not alone in my sentiments.
With the team already feeling burnt out and a whole week still ahead of us, it seemed nothing short of an IV full of caffeine would get us through each day. But Terps being Terps, we carried on like brave, racket-wielding warriors. Albeit, tired, cranky and seriously sleep-deprived warriors.
I can tell you from experience that nothing brings a team together like the combined effort to avoid running sprints... and nothing cures constipation quite like having balls shot at you while you're at the net.
Despite how tough these sort of practices can be, it's meant to be getting us ready to play more difficult matches and to refine our great warrior skills. Personally, I think we're partaking in some ancient tribal ritual meant to cull out the weaker ones as a sacrificial pre-game offering to Testudo... but that's just me.
Unfortunately, if we thought that the week had been difficult, we were in for an even harder weekend. To put it simply, on Saturday, we lost our footing... and then proceeded to make quite a marvelous landing on our backsides. The coaches took us aside afterwards and gave us a speech that was both extremely motivational and deeply inspiring.
Unfortunately, I can't recall the exact conversation, but I do know that the words "6 a.m." and "sprints" were used repeatedly...
On Sunday, we were finally able work together as a team to turn things around. We won of course, and afterwards we had a celebratory meal which consisted of sandwiches and more than enough junk food to make up for all of our extra effort. What can I say? Victory is sweet...both literally, and figuratively.
If anything, the matches on Saturday brought us closer together as a team, and I hope I speak for everybody when I say that I'm proud of the us. We may not have 'blitzed' the Spiders or held up our "spotless home record", but in the end, we came out better for it. And after all, that's what counts.
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