Mackenzie Lewis
Reporter
For most students, February break usually consists of vacationing on Florida beaches, skiing mountain trails in Vermont or sitting on the couch at home watching TV shows on Netflix. While the rest of the high school has a relaxing week off, Junior Emma Rosenstein is piling on her gear and hitting the ice.
According to junior girls hockey captain Emma Rosenstein, the team bonds during the vacation time. “Although all our friends come home tan from break, in the end it’s good to be home because we have a lot of fun as a team and do activities we normally wouldn’t have the time to do, like going to the aquarium,” she said.
During break, practices and games occur as they would when school is in session. Since it is towards the end of the season, some teams such as girls and boys track and wrestling have FCIACs and state finals, while the rest of the teams, such as girls and boys basketball, hockey, and swimming are preparing for the postseason. Although some athletes don’t get the opportunity to leave New Canaan, they admit that to have sports during vacation can be helpful because of the extra practice time on the court, rink or in the pool.
Both boys and girls basketball continue on with their seasons during the winter break as well. Junior Elizabeth Miller, a member of the girls’ basketball team said, “We continue on with the season with the extra practice times,” she said. “It helps us prepare for what’s to come.”
Being able to continue to practice during the February vacation can be helpful to all sports in order to work on the team’s strengths and weaknesses during the time off and for the coach to have the players’ complete focus.
Junior Ted O’Rourke, a member of the boys hockey team agreed that practices over break can be beneficial. “It’s helpful to keep on playing over break because our team stays in rhythm and can gear up for a postseason run in March.” The team is preparing for their championship season, with their FCIAC tournament starting February 28th, and states beginning in March. “While we don’t get to go away on vacation,” Ted added, “most hockey players are used to having to stay in town during the season.”
Not all winter sports run during the break. For indoor track athletes, their seasons come to a close before then. Their FCIAC finals occurred on January 29th, while their states competition took place on February 6th, completing the season for the rest of these athletes. Senior captain of the girls track and field, Isabel Hetherington said that the February vacation doesn’t play a huge role for track. “A few girls on the team qualify for state opens which happen on the first day of break,” she said, “Track doesn’t really take time away from our vacation.”
While winter sports benefit from their extra practices and games, the boys lacrosse team gets a head start on their spring season. During February break, the team takes a trip to St. Petersburg, Florida to participate in a five day pre-season tune-up camp.
Senior lacrosse player Cole Turpin believes that the trip brings the team together because of the tough schedule. “There are three practices a day: a morning session, an afternoon session and a night session which is either another practice or a game,” he said. “The Florida trip helps us build chemistry on the field and puts us in situations that we will be seeing during the season. The early jump start is very beneficial.”
As a high school team, boys lacrosse is able to improve their skills by playing not only against players of their own age, but also against college teams. “We scrimmage the University of Tampa’s JV team,” Cole said. “It is a Division II college. Last year we played them twice, winning the first one, but losing the second only by one goal.” The opportunity two play against this college team gives the team more experience due to the stronger competition, it develops the team’s chemistry on and off the field.
Focusing on sports during the February vacation can be very beneficial for both teams that are concluding their winter schedule and teams that are preparing for their upcoming season. Vacation is not only a time to relax, it is a time for athletes to work hard, improve, and practice their sports. “February break is a time to develop our team” Emma said. “We bond a lot and play everyday in preparation for the upcoming postseason. It’s a fun time.”
