Columbus North graduate Christian Cardoso plays for the Alliance XI team that played in the US Youth Soccer National Championships this summer in Orlando, Florida.
Submitted photo
As college athletes head back to campus and start practicing with their teams again, they must find a way to stay in shape.
Whether it is practicing at home, in the backyard, in the gym or out on a field, collegiate athletes find various ways to keep themselves at peak performance no matter the sport.
Kelsey Lovelace had her freshman softball season at Calumet College of St. Joseph end in May. She said she takes June lightly to take a mental break and spend time with family. She runs up to a mile to stay in shape, and then in July, she gets back to practicing, working on her swing and getting the mechanics correctly.
Kelsey Lovelace
Lovelace, a Columbus North graduate, hits about a half-dozen bucket of balls with her father Kevin, and she also seeks help from her hitting coach, Kevin Danford, when available.
“I ran all of June just to stay in shape that way because (CCSJ) coach (Dave Lopez) is really big on miles. I did that, then I would also do Yoga to keep my body loose,” Kelsey Lovelace said. “In July and August, I’ll start going to the gym and work on some condition and agility aspects, so when I go back, I’m not completely burned out and out of shape.”
Chloe Gilley
For Chloe Gilley, her sophomore season of volleyball at Indiana State begins later this month. The Columbus East graduate has the benefit of practicing alongside her sister and teammate Cadence, a senior with the Sycamores. Chloe says the two hit balls back and forth and also work on serve-receive together.
“When you get to college, every touch matters, so even though it’s not on the court, it’s not live, but those little touches that you’re getting in the yard are going to help you transition your platform when you get on the court and into the games and even into practices,” Chloe said.
Chloe and Cadence Gilley recently got gym memberships at Columbus Fit, while Christian Cardoso spends time at Total Fitness.
Cardoso, a sophomore soccer player for IU Columbus, spends time working out with his Crimson Pride teammates during the winter and spring doing plenty of running and touches on the ball. But for the past couple months, the North graduate has gotten his training through his Alliance club team.
“I consistently have been going in the gym a lot more. I make sure to run at the gym, lift and do what I need to do, and sometimes I go out to Parkside to train,” Cardoso said. “With Alliance, I was going to Bloomington almost every day, so I got my training in with Alliance.”
Koryn Greiwe
Koryn Greiwe will be a redshirt junior next basketball season at Indiana Wesleyan. The East graduate redshirted her freshman year because of an ACL injury.
During May and June, Greiwe said the IWU team did daily workouts, lifting and nutrition. In June, the team had prospect camps and kids camps.
After working out with the team in June, Greiwe began with the team’s structured lifts, which is a combination of quickness, skills and agility work, and structured basketball workouts.
“My workouts are my own after the structured workout, so I do a lot of running so that I can be in the best shape I can be,” Greiwe said. “Whether it is outdoor or indoor, on the treadmill, I always find a great way to make sure that I’m in shape, and then I also do other basketball skill work, as well, to make sure that my skills are the best for the team and what’s needed for the team. That’s how I look at it.”
This is the first summer in her career that Lovelace isn’t playing travel softball. It is a different setting for her not traveling and playing softball every weekend.
Lovelace has found many ways to help herself get better. A lot of help comes from her father when she works on her defense with forehand and backhand drills at shortstop, in addition to working on transfers and throwdowns from second. She said it’s a good way to get back up and keep her repetition.
“When you step outside of travel ball, it was like I’ve got to figure this out on my own,” Lovelace said. “I still have the resources and coaches that can come and help me anytime I need, but you’ve got to figure this out on your own and what works best for you. It’s definitely been different.”
Lovelace mentioned she does have the same workload each day. If she has a bad hitting or fielding session, she’ll take a few extra reps.
“I usually do about the same every single day because I don’t want to go too easy or don’t want to go too overboard,” Lovelace said. “It can be frustrating mentally because what helps me is, I never am really satisfied with my performance. You want to give more to your teammates and coaches. I think that gives me the spark doing this much this day or that much that day.”
Fortunately for Gilley, she had the opportunity to get in some gym time and reps when she and her sister traveled to their former club team, Circle City. It was a great opportunity to workout and practice with other college volleyball players across different states and conferences.
“We are lucky that our club is constantly inviting us and all of the alumni back for open gyms and join other practices with their teams,” Chloe said. “We would jump in with the other teams and have our own alumni open gyms so we can get those intense touches and reps, and it’s all college athletes, so you’re playing with athletes all across different conferences, so you’re getting to see what conference play is like in other areas. It’s definitely a great opportunity and thankful for Circle for giving us the opportunity and the chance to get ready.”
Greiwe said all the basketball training ramps up for the season when they report back to IWU at the end of the month.
“Summer is such a key time for college athletes,” Greiwe said. “You want to enter this season already in shape and confident and fully prepared to compete. If you don’t put in the time in the summer, there’s no way to get back that time in order to be the best when you begin, not just for yourself but for your team. You want every single individual on the team to be their best for us to have a great season.”
Greiwe, Gilley, Lovelace and Cardoso all agree that when they return to practice with their teams, it’s noticeable who has put in the time to practice and hard work during the offseason.
“Those there that are working out in the summer and putting in the work, putting in the hours, it really shows when you go back and start your training again with your team,” Cardoso said. “For me, if I don’t run for a month, and we’re back to IU Columbus, I wouldn’t be in the best shape. It’s all beneficial toward what we’re doing. It’s just a matter of you wanting to put in the work.”
“All of the work, the effort, the time that you have to put in for the summer is extremely worth it. Taking that time off completely can hinder who you are as an athlete. I do believe that there should be time for rest, but at the end of the day, you want to be in the best shape you can,” Greiwe added. “Taking that time off completely is not allowing you to be the best athlete you can be for yourself or for your team. It puts me in the mindset that I feel confident in who I am and prepared, rather that being under prepared and not be ready for what’s ahead.”
