Tag: High School

How Many Times a Week Should Athletes Lift Weights?

By: Ford Wilder

A widespread question among athletes, and teams is how many days a week should one be in the weight room. There are various answers to this question from multiple specialists, trainers, sports scientists, etc. Many say athletes should only lift twice a week. While some say athletes should train up to six times a week! I do not believe there is a particularly wrong answer to this question, but I do believe there is a best possible answer.

I believe that athletes should lift 5 to six times a week in the offseason for maximal growth and gains. This is because I have noticed very little progress or effectiveness with a low workload. LIfting only twice or three times a week in the offseason gains progress but at a much slower rate than lifting upwards of five times a week. The offseason is the time to try and become the very best athlete you can be. And by lifting very frequently your body will see the changes. Your body will be fatigued from this heavy workload, but that is fine because you are not playing games during the off-season. This is where you prepare yourself for the upcoming season of whatever sport(s) you play. I lifted five times a week during this past summer during my offseason and I saw great results by doing so. I even sometimes went six times a week with 4 upper body days, two being a push day and two being a pull day. The other one or two would be a lower body. This was quite strenuous on my body, but I mostly certainly developed quicker than if I had been on a two or three-day-a-week split.

In-season weightlifting is completely different from the off-season though. This is where I believe you should only lift three to four times a week. While in season, the main focus of in-season weightlifting is to maintain strength and explosiveness and to prevent injuries. 

Athletes do not want to be fatigued, but instead be at their full capabilities and fully recovered by game time. You can still train for increasing gains in the offseason, but you should do this type of training two to four days before your game(s). I have trained 5 days a week during this football season. You may think I just contradicted myself, but I have taken a certain approach to continue to get stronger but also not be fatigued when it comes to game time. I have 2 upper body days, 1 lower body day, 1 full body day, and 1 recovery lift day. Three of these days are high-intensity, but I do these lifting sessions earlier in the week so I am not fatigued for game day. The other two days aid in injury prevention, explosiveness, and muscle recovery. This is how an athlete can continue to get stronger in the season, but also stay fresh for their games.

Ultimately, I am a firm believer that athletes should lift many times a week in the season and the off-season. The weight room is a vital tool that can lead to great success for athletes if it is used properly. I have noticed the results myself as long as I have taken an intelligent approach to not overworking myself during the season. Also, I have found a way that works best for me while in the offseason which has led to efficient gains. Lifting weights as many times a week as one possibly can without messing their performance up is key to separating yourself from others.

Benefits of Participating in Track

By: Andrew Howle

To begin with, the track is an exceptional sport for any individual to try on their high school sports team. It offers numerous paths that athletes can participate in, whether on the field or in running. Many people claim track is largely a social sport, being moderate during practice. However, I would argue differently about that comment. Although social relationships are built from the sport, it has many long-term benefits for athletes. These benefits are specific to a large number of events track athletes participate in during meets. These events can help students increase their speed on the track and grow their discipline, which correlates to their performance on the field.

The sport offers Many running events from short, medium, and long distances. This variation allows students to excel in a specific category they may be best at. I personally run sprints because my body is not built to run long distances at a constant pace. I would collapse and face the plant into the ground. That is a reason why the track is so different from other sports. There are multiple events that an athlete has a probable chance of excelling in meets. However, these athletes’ records will only be broken if tasked with frivolous practicing and conditioning. These practices may be drawn out sometimes, but lead to a long-term increase in speed for the athlete, which is a significant benefit of the sport.

Another benefit of the track is the heightened characteristic of discipline correlating to performance in field events. These field events offer a different challenge to young athletes who may need to be faster. These challenges can have many obstacles, including the biggest one of form. An athlete must have exceptional form to do well in their event. Deciding who’s the fastest or strongest person on the field is not a challenge. However, it is a battle of technique among athletes. This technique is gained through intense discipline in performing actions exactly correctly to get a PR and prevent injury. Discipline could not be any more of a benefit gained from the sport.

To conclude, track is an amazing sport to try out during your high school career. It offers a long line of benefits to children who participate in it.

My Favorite Things

By: McKenzie Gray Mills

This week on my top favorite things, I’ll be talking about the best class at Wilson Hall. Digital Media is definitely the most fun class Wilson Hall offers. This class allows us to create content to share with others in our own unique way. It’s nice to have a teacher that has so much knowledge on the subject. Our teacher probably has about eight different accounts on instagram. He is a content creator for all sports related things that go on in the school. There’s not really any guidelines when it comes to what you can post. As long as it is approved by our teacher and would be enjoyed by viewers. 

We are allowed two to three people in each group. My group this year has three people. Last year it had two. Last year we started off the first semester with interviewing for different grades. We started with the three year olds and worked our way up from there. We asked questions that would get some pretty funny answers. The last semester we asked different people to film a day in their lives. This got a lot of love because it was fun to see what our classmates did when not being in the classroom. This year we have started out with the interviews again. The parents really enjoy this content. 

Digital media two students get to help out a little bit more. We have gotten to make some videos that are played during teacher meetings. Our first one we asked an assortment of students what it means to them that we go to a college preparatory school. Getting to make those videos can be a little more tedious, but an honor to be involved with. This class truly is what each one of us look forward to in our day.

Study Tips

Grayce Osgood

Studying is something that no one particularly enjoys. It can seem like a lot, especially if work piles up and classes seem to get harder, but creating a system for studying can help. It can help organize your workload and take some stress off of you. This blog will hopefully help give you some tips on how to make a study system for you, one that you can find from someone else or tailor for yourself. 

The first thing to make sure you have is notes. Make sure you are taking notes during class when you need them, you could use a computer, if allowed, or write them down, which helps more with memorization. Once you finish the notes, if they aren’t organized you could make them more organized at a different time, and while you do that, take more time to try and understand the topic you were taking notes on. You could organize them with flashcards, or do whole detailed lists, whatever works for you.

A useful source to use when making a study system on the Internet. You can find youtube, tiktok, instagram, etc videos online that can give you some inspiration for ways to study. There’s plenty of accounts out there that are dedicated to helping with schoolwork. The Internet would be an easy source to use because it is also very accessible, everyone can use it and it has almost everything you need on it. Another online study tip is to use Quizlets. Quizlets can help you organize your notes, study, and memorize things for tests and quizzes. These things can help you organize and come up with study plans, and they’re sources you can use outside of school while you have free time.  

So there are some starting tips on how to create a study system for yourself. Make sure to keep your notes organized, and organize them based on what works best for you to memorize them. You can also use, outside of school, the internet. It can be a very helpful tool when you can’t understand something or you just need some pointer or motivation. Hopefully these tips will help you and your studies!

Volleyball Reflections

By: McKenzie Gray Mills

On this weeks blog, I’ll be talking about one of my favorite things, which is Wilson Hall Volleyball. This program has been a big part of my life since 7th grade. It started with my first year on the b-team where I fell in love with the sport and the atmosphere Wilson hall provided. 

    After 7th grade, I progressed to JV. JV was a big step for me because we got to practice with the older girls. Practicing with them brought some fear every now and then, but most of all it brought friendships that last a lifetime. Even when I was a little 8th grader, they still cared about me. Those same friends still check up on me even though they have moved on to bigger things in college. I stayed on JV my freshman year as well.

     My sophomore year I got the chance to be on the varsity team. It was the most exciting thing after being told I had made the team. I walked into the locker room and the whole team was jumping up and down. That was pure joy. That tradition still lives on where we go crazy in the locker room congratulating the new members. Sophomore year was such a highlight in my life just because of the memories I made with that specific team. It never once mattered about playing time. It was about the family we had created that year. 

      Now being a senior, I still fully love this program. After our seniors last year graduated, it was really hard to step up because I never imagined myself being the senior. This year’s team is just as special as all of the others. We are coming together and I can’t wait to see how they continue to grow. Wilson Hall volleyball will be something I cherish forever.

Wilson Hall Volleyball Update

By: Olivia Cogswell

On Tuesday August 17, the Lady Baron volleyball team took on the LMA swamcats, a rivalry matchup. The Wilson Hall volleyball team, having come off losing three region games to Trinity Collegiate, John Paul II, and Hilton Head Christian, were fighting for the win. 

The Barons started off strong with a two set lead, finishing the first set with a score of 25-15. During the set Molly Jones and Mckinley Bath led the offense, but the swamp cats hung around. Wilson Hall was playing hard, being aggressive at the net, and Mckenzie Gray Mills led the defense with digs. The second looked very similar, with Bath leading on offense, and Mills carrying the defense, but the swamp cats were hanging on. Until sophomore Savannah Wells came up to serve with back to back aces. Leading the Barons to the second set victory.

However the third set took a turn with the lady Barons falling behind with a swampcat lead of 10-0. The team fought for a comeback, but there were errors on errors. Faces began to show, and the team was clearly in a slump. However later in the set they were able to come together and make a comeback, but unfortunately were unable to finish with the victory, ending with a 25-20 score. 

In between the third and fourth set, senior Anna Kate Coker pulled the frustrated Barons into a huddle. Pep talks and encouragement were shared, before it was time to huddle up with Coach Rip. The Barons went out for the fourth and final set to take back the lead and finish the game. The Barons played hard and aggressive while LMA kept hanging on by three. Questionable calls were made by the ref, but everyone kept playing. Until finally the Barons had gotten their first region victory of the season, and held their winning record over their rival LMA. 

Study Tips

Grayce Osgood

Studying is something that no one particularly enjoys. It can seem like a lot, especially if work piles up and classes seem to get harder, but creating a system for studying can help. It can help organize your workload and take some stress off of you. This blog will hopefully help give you some tips on how to make a study system for you, one that you can find from someone else or tailor for yourself. 

The first thing to make sure you have is notes. Make sure you are taking notes during class when you need them. You could use a computer, if allowed, or write them down, which helps more with memorization. Once you finish the notes, if they aren’t organized, you could make them more organized at a different time, and while you do that, take more time to try and understand the topic you were taking notes on. You could organize them with flashcards, or do whole detailed lists, whatever works for you.

A useful source to use when making a study system on the Internet. You can find youtube, tiktok, instagram, etc videos online that can give you some inspiration for ways to study. There’s plenty of accounts out there that are dedicated to helping with schoolwork. The Internet would be an easy source to use because it is also very accessible, everyone can use it and it has almost everything you need on it. Another online study tip is to use Quizlets. Quizlets can help you organize your notes, study, and memorize things for tests and quizzes. These things can help you organize and come up with study plans, and they’re sources you can use outside of school while you have free time.  

Here are some starting tips on how to create a study system for yourself. Make sure to keep your notes organized, and organize them based on what works best for you to memorize them. You can also use, outside of school, the internet. It can be a very helpful tool when you can’t understand something or you just need some pointer or motivation. Hopefully these tips will help you and your studies!

My Favorite Things: Wilson Hall Track

By: McKenzie Gray Mills

In this week’s blog I’ll be talking about one of my favorite things, Wilson Hall track. Volleyball is my main sport, but in the spring I enjoy participating in track. My sophomore year I was a mid-distance runner. I ran the 400 and 200 in meets. In my junior year, I took a very different route. I did the triple and long jump. While I probably should have stuck it out with mid-distance because I’m not the tallest person or have a great vertical, I oddly really enjoyed being a jumper.

Jumping practice is much different than a mid-distance practice. It starts out with the whole team doing the two-lap warm-up and stretching routine. Once we get over to the “jumping area”, we mark down our spots and do about five to ten jumps depending on if there’s a meet coming up. When we are waiting for our turn to jump we usually all sit in a circle and talk about what’s going on or try to sneak our phones to look at TikTok or Snapchat quickly.

Wilson Hall’s track team is unique from others, we all get along so well and truly enjoy being out there with each other. On Friday we take part in Popsicle Friday. This is where each senior gets a turn to talk about their favorite track memories and share a piece of advice with the lower classmen who still have some time at Wilson Hall, while everyone enjoys their popsicle of choice. For my last year being able to take part in this wonderful activity, I plan to keep going with the triple and long jump. I might not miss hearing Coach Rip tell the jumpers it is their turn to do some running, but there are so many more things I will miss

Wilson Hall Volleyball

By: Addie Griffin

One of the best things is volleyball. The feeling you get when you make a perfect pass off of a hard hit and everyone goes crazy. The feeling of serving an ace off of a team that is known for their serve receive. Cheering on your teammates whenever they have an incredible hit or get an impossible dig. These are all unbeatable feelings. However, Wilson Hall volleyball is so much more than just passing, serving, or hitting a ball. It is unlike any other volleyball program around, solely because of the people. Wilson Hall Volleyball is where you find girls you never thought you would be friends with. Where different grades and ages become one as a team, and you become closer than you could ever imagine. They even become some of your best friends. Wilson Hall volleyball is filled with love and laughter (only during appropriate times of course). Wilson Hall volleyball is where you learn the most about your teammates. Where you have the deepest conversations and hear the most shocking stories on the long bus rides back home. It is where you all share countless laughs about things only the team would find funny, and where you do stupid dances right up until the referee blows the whistle. Wilson Hall volleyball is getting a piece of encouragement or, “the quote of the day”, before every practice from one of your teammates, and everyone claps or sometimes giggles, depending on how poorly executed it might be. It might seem crazy, but these small details are what make Wilson Hall volleyball unlike any other. When all is said and done, you will not remember all of the good plays that you made or the games you won, but the memories that were made over your short years of Wilson Hall volleyball.