The Piedmont Highlander

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The Piedmont Highlander

The Piedmont Highlander

Winter sports practice over breaks

While others stuffed themselves with leftover turkey and mashed potatoes, athletes in soccer, basketball, and cross country ground away at their respective sports over Thanksgiving and winter breaks.

After practicing and competing over Thanksgiving break, the cross country team pushed through the final leg of their post-season. The girls’ cross country team advanced to the state championship, where they placed fourth. Junior Graham Dean was the only member of the boys’ cross country team to make state.

The basketball and soccer seasons, on the other hand, lie on the opposite end of the spectrum. Both teams have just begun their seasons and will continue practicing over Winter Break.

Besides Thanksgiving Day itself, senior Joseph Powell said that the basketball team had a normal practice schedule. It was treated as a regular practice, and the varsity coaches had normal expectations.

“Our first game [was] over Thanksgiving break, so we needed to be prepared,” Powell said.

It was a clear expectation from the beginning of the year, so neither Powell nor most of his teammates made special plans over the break. From freshman to senior year, the basketball program has regularly practiced over Thanksgiving.

“At first people aren’t used to it, but it becomes a normal thing after four years,” Powell said.

Junior J.J. Zhu said unlike the majority of the basketball players, many soccer players had trips scheduled over the break, and the practices coincided with some of them.

“It interferes with my plans and most people’s, but you do it because you love soccer,” Zhu said. “Varsity players at least should definitely do it.”

Senior Matt Baringer said that the soccer team also had normal practices, although they were much more optional. He said that if any of the players had pre-scheduled plans that would require them to be out of town, their coach let them off.

Their first game was on the Wednesday following Thanksgiving vacation, so practicing over the break kept the players from becoming rusty, Baringer said.

 

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