During winter break, most kids will be relaxing and spending their free time casually. However, swimmer and junior Mitch Cooper is going to attend mandatory practices throughout winter break from 6 to 8 a.m. and from 2 to 5 p.m.

This is a part of many teams’ plans to practice during winter break. Despite the fact that the athletes are on a break from school, they still have to attend mandatory practices and games.

“I’m fine with practicing over winter break. I wish I had a little bit of more rest,” Cooper said.

Cooper has to wake up for winter break practices early. Cooper said the practices are beneficial for him since they will help him stay in shape over the course of the season.

Cooper said this is not the first time he will have to attend winter break practices. He has previously attended winter break practices during his freshman and sophomore years on the swimming team.

According to Cooper, his only breaks from winter break practices are on Sundays, Christmas and Christmas Eve.

Along with the practices over winter break, Cooper additionally has meets over winter break as well. He said he needs more rest, but the winter break practices are helpful during the later part of the season.

Cooper also said he thinks winter break practices unify the team. Cooper believes that the winter break practices contributed to the men’s swimming and diving team’s State championship victory last year.

“(Winter break practices) will help our team to get in shape,” Cooper said. “(The practices) also will help me to improve my technique.”

Chris Plumb, head coach of the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams, stated that the main reason he holds practices over winter break is because the teams have high goals and high expectations for the season.

Plumb believes it is ideal to hold practices over winter break since students will have less academic stress over break because there will be no school. In addition, Plumb wants the team to maintain its momentum towards the end of the season and said winter break practices will only help the team to do that.

Plumb said he is aware the swimmers might get overworked. In order to ensure his athletes do not get injured, he raises the intensity of winter break practices gradually to prepare the team for its meets.

“I think that (practice over break is) integral. We get high quality workouts over winter break. It is essential for the push near the end of the season for the State championship,” Plumb said.

Like Plumb, Michael Volovic, varsity guard for the men’s basketball team and senior, is a firm supporter of winter break practices. Volovic’s winter break schedule includes attending the mandatory practices for all of winter break except for four days.

The main reason Volovic said he believes winter break practices are necessary is because he does not want the team to fall behind, since the team has games during winter break as well. Like Cooper, Volovic said that practicing over winter break was one of the major keys for the team to win the State Championship last year.

He also said he doesn’t feel overworked since the team’s winter break practices only take up two and a half hours of the day and they make up for shortened practices later on in the season. Volovic’s main goal for this year’s season is to help the team improve, and he is confident that the winter break practices will help him and the team achieve that goal.

“We continue to get better and don’t take a step back,” Volovic said. “We continue to stay in shape while other kids are being lazy at home.”