Knights Offseason: Baseball Edition
Ryan provides a look into what the varsity baseball team does during the Winter.
Ryan provides a look into what the varsity baseball team does during the Winter.
During the winter, outdoor sports can’t practice outside because… snow. As a Californian, this experience is new to me, so I’m going to walk you through what life is like for a baseball player in the winter.
Practices are three times a week indoors at the Rec. We drop three nets for batting cages and use up another court for pitching bullpens and throwing. It’s definitely tough to practice indoors. Space is limited, and we aren’t able to practice flying balls or hitting outside of a cage, but we make do with what we have. Practices are still fun! This past week we started hitting “live” again (pitchers throwing game speed to hitters) which helps bring back a regular feel to practices.
During the winter we also workout as a team three times per week at Laird Stadium. Lifts during the winter are geared toward building strength and muscle in preparation for the season. Our current schedule has Monday, Wednesday, and Friday lifts, and on Mondays and Wednesdays, we have team practices soon after lift. There is just enough time between the two to grab a quick bite to eat, so a handful of the freshmen and I walk over to Sayles after workouts to hang out and eat for a little bit.
The baseball team is very tight-knit so we also do a bunch of stuff outside of practices and lifts together. My personal favorites are the basketball pickup games we run, usually at Cowling or the Rec. They’re a really fun way to hang out with teammates while being competitive and getting extra cardio in.
This term, the first-year class on the team is participating in multiple different intramural sports. We have a team for 5-on-5 basketball, indoor soccer, and broomball. I mostly play basketball–I’m scared of getting hurt playing broomball and I am really bad at soccer.
Many of the freshmen also consistently gather in Goodhue to watch football games together. Because we’re currently in the midst of the NFL playoffs, they gather multiple times a week to cheer on their favorite teams. We also eat tons of meals together, and it’s always fun to see the baseball team take up three tables in the Burton Dining Hall after practices.
At this point, I’m waiting for next week when our head coach can join us for practices and start leading the team. I think it’ll boost competition and make everyone work a little bit harder as they all vie for playing time this coming season.
Ryan (he/him) is a freshman from Alameda, CA. He is currently undecided on a major but enjoys stem classes. He plays on the varsity baseball team and is an avid fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ryan loves spending his free time playing video games, listening to music, or spending time with his friends in the dining halls.