Morning practice. These are the dreaded words that make every athlete cringe and subconsciously reach for their cup of coffee. It's the time that we hate the most and yet feel unproductive without. It's the biggest love hate relationship in our lives that we hate to be in, but love to be a part of. For the regular morning practice goers, these top ten thoughts you have before and after every morning practice will be much too familiar to you.
- When is the next time I get to go to sleep
This is the first and only thing on your mind the instant that your alarm goes off in the morning and tries to force you awake. - Please tell me I'm still dreaming
This may seem cliche but in reality, I’ve dreamt through quite a few alarms and although sleeping through your alarms for morning practice is an athlete’s worst nightmare, it starts to sound like the best option when you find yourself awake before the rest of the world is. - Okay, I’m pulling off my covers in 3..2..
It’s the moment we all dread. It’s the second that you have to peek just your forehead out of the covers to feel the air before starting to question why you didn't just sleep in your parka and UGG boots in the first place. - …1…Gah its so cold and dark what is this place, whyyyyy.
Congrats. You finally made the big move out of bed and whats your reward? Well you get to pretend like you're in a medieval dungeon because it’s still pitch black at this ungodly hour of the morning. Oh but you can’t forget that everyone is asleep so don't even think about flipping on too many lights or making too much noise unless you want to face the wrath of your family members who are tucked ever so nicely in warm beds at this time. - Thank God I packed my lunch last night/ yeah this can of beans will do
You all know the struggle- if you remembered to pack your food the night before then this is your moment of gratitude and joy. But if you didn’t, well then this is the moment that all of the sudden you think a can of beans and a bag of popcorn is sufficient enough to get you through two practices, work, and a full day of classes because “ehhhh it’ll do.” - Okay, time to get out the front door
This is usually a time of mixed emotions. Part of you is thinking about how cold the seats in your car are about to be, and the other part of you is looking at the door frame laughing because you're wearing two jackets, a parka, a beanie, UGG boots, and have your school bag, sports bag, and lunch bag all slung across each side of your body. Oh and don't forget your poster for that school project. You need that too. - WHAT AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE
This is the time of the morning that makes you think “if someone where to be video taping me right now they would put me in a psych ward.” At this point you're in the car having the time of your life because you have no other option but to laugh. It’s the moment that you know you're insane for devoting your life to this sport, but you also know you love it too much to ever want to give it up. So at this point all you can do is stick your hand out the window, pretend it’s a dolphin in the wind, and laugh. - Aaaaaand I forgot to pack underwear again
Don’t even try to act like this doesn’t happen to you every once in awhile. - Yeah so I know you just told me not to, but I’m going to eat in class. Sorry Teach.
You can usually find the athletes in the class if you just follow the sound of protein bar wrappers and the smell of peanut butter bagels hot out of a ziplock baggie. Teachers and even students will try to tell you to do otherwise but your general train of thought is “you can complain all you want but my butt got up before most of you went to bed and not only that but after practice I ran here fresh out of training to get to your class on time so you're crazy if you think I'm skipping the most important meal of the day. Sorry Teach.” - Dang I love this sport.
No matter how much we may complain about having the sleep schedule of an insomniac or having to train so hard that getting up from your desk becomes your next biggest challenge, the bottom line is that we do it because of our undying passion for the game. When you get up on the starting blocks, or lane lines, or whatever it may be, it’s that feeling of pure joy and adrenaline pulsing through you that pulls you out of bed every morning and gets you in the pool or on the field day in and day out.
