While students are traveling and sleeping over the summer, Campo’s sports teams are training and spending time together to get ready for the season. The student section is first filled with fans during August, but for the game to go the Cougars’ way, work has to be done over the summer. The teams that prepare over the summer are not just fall sports teams. All teams train so they can win that first game of the season, regardless of when it is.
As varsity football coach Kevin Macy says, “Football is an all-year sport.” If the Cougars want to still be playing football in November, they have to practice all year long and create a bond. It starts with SealFit just days after the seniors walk the stage at graduation. On Sunday, June 1, sophomores, juniors, and seniors went to a campground near Santa Cruz for an unforgettable experience. While waking up at 3 a.m. to do pushups with Navy Seals is not the perfect way to start the summer, it can be highly beneficial for the Varsity and JV football teams.
Senior outside linebacker Teo McCrea said, “It’s really a bonding experience with the team. You get to suffer together, as they say, which then creates this bond where everyone knows the struggle each guy has pushed through together, so we can do a season together.” SealFit is not meant for torture but rather to create a team that is willing to fight for each other every week during the fall.
After SealFit, the football team primarily focuses on weightlifting over the summer, with Cougar Camp taking place in mid-July. Weights are not mandatory, but they are beneficial. McCrea explains, “It’s very important. It can make somebody go from seeing zero minutes all year the previous year to becoming a starter.” As for Cougar Camp, it’s the one thing that is not for the players but for the program. Cougar Camp is a way of keeping Campo football alive as kids from grades four to eight from all over Lamorinda go to Campo to learn how to play the game the right way.
Basketball is a winter sport, but that does not stop the players from training in advance of the season. The team practices and lifts daily in June, with games on weekends, and continues with conditioning and open gyms in the fall. They also held a new tournament similar to AAU tournaments outside of school, which gave the team more confidence. Players also trained individually to prepare for the season. Senior point guard Peyton Beld described what he did during the break. “Just focusing on getting up as many shots as I can, really working on my ball handling, but yeah, just going through this whole process with kind of fixing my shot, changing up a little bit.”
The players also spend time with each other over the summer. Team bonding activities include hanging out, attending concerts, and going to 7-Eleven. Attendance is also crucial for basketball. It is really difficult to have the entire team present throughout the summer, but the coaches value commitment. Consistent attendance shows commitment and reliability, which are valued for getting more playing time. Having long and tiring practices throughout the summer while other students are vacationing can be draining, but Beld enjoys the opportunity to get better during this time. “I love the game. I got one more year. I was hurt for a lot of the summer. I was blessed to just get these fall games just to figure out more about myself and about the team. But yeah, every second that I get to play Campo basketball is a blessing.” The basketball team now prepares for its first game of the season with daily weights and open gyms in the morning.
Cross-country also holds practices over the summer as players prepare for the fall season and the eventual spring track season. They have training six days a week for nine weeks and also go to Camp Humboldt for a week. For Camp Humboldt, the runners drive to Cal Poly Humboldt and stay in dorms while attending seminars. Junior Carter Cook said, “Individually, this summer, I ran close to, like, 400 miles. I ran every day. Really consistent, and a lot of the teams did that.”
During the offseason, the team has breakfast at one of the players’ houses as well as Saturday long runs. Going to the practices and Camp Humboldt is not mandatory, but players still show up. “It’s not mandatory, but the team’s really, really good this year, so there’s just a lot of people holding each other accountable. And so that’s why a lot of people showed up,” Cook said.
As for Cheer, they practice for about two hours over the course of the summer and also attend camps. Practices are very similar to what they do during the season, and the cheer camp prepares them for the competitions they have throughout the year. They frequently hang out at each other’s houses. For example, this summer, senior captain Isabelle Porcella hosted a pool party for the team. The team is lenient on attendance, but it is still important for players to be there.
Porcella said, “It’s more frustrating because cheer is very much a team sport, because stunting requires every single member to be there. But I think on our team, we have set up a standard where everyone is pretty much there every day.” The cheerleaders have to be as prepared as the football team for that first game of the season and other events, including rallies and tournaments.
Campo’s athletic success would not be possible without the work all teams put in over the summer. Fans watching on the stands may otherwise be unaware of all the work that goes into a sport – even including missing out on a vacation. Through summer practices, camps, and competitions, these athletes not only sharpen their skills but also build lasting friendships and inspire those around them.
