As teams reach the playoffs and tensions rise, the soccer team, water polo team, cross country team, and field hockey team practice tirelessly in an attempt to come up on top.

One thing they all have in common is their strength and determination to win the playoffs.                                           

 Soccer player Joseph Gregory (‘24) gets ready for the playoffs by practicing for hours every weekend and becoming more familiar with his opponent to try and grow as a player and win.

“[I] watch films for about 3 to 4 hours a day,” Gregory said.

 His team is less concerned about working on their team as a whole and more concerned about focusing on the other team and how they play to try and counter their playing style.

 “We are more ready than last year,” Gregory said.

But watching films isn’t the only thing teams do to get ready for the playoffs. Senior water polo player Samuel Woodard notices how practice changes in the week leading up to the playoffs.

 “We have a whole week,” Woodard said. “Just a week of practice. We don’t have any games. We are just practicing running plays. Not much conditioning because we don’t want to be exhausted for now, but really, we’re just focusing a lot on plays and making sure our fundamentals are solid because it’s all important for playoff games because we only have one game if we win it.”

 Similarly, water polo isn’t the only sport that needs to change its regime to better prepare for the playoffs. Senior cross country runner Jackie Dell is experiencing similar changes in his normal workouts.

“Usually you start by focusing on workouts for varsity, and the workouts get harder,” Dell said. “We might focus more on one skill than another. Like, where’s the whole season? We focus on things we want to achieve for the entire season. Whereas once we get closer to the playoffs, we want to focus more on, like, making sure our skills are where we want, making sure that we are just cleaning up on things.”