San Marcos sports have been back and better than ever! These athletes are not only great athletes for our school, but they are also students like everyone else. Being a Student Athlete comes with great responsibility. The term Student Athlete starts with student, meaning that academics come before anything else.
Today, I talked with some fellow Royals athletes and got a rundown on a day in the life of a student athlete at San Marcos High School. Katie Kracke is a varsity volleyball defender, and she gave us an idea of what she does on a game day. Katie normally wakes up at about 7 AM and has a balanced meal consisting of eggs and avocado toast which is the most important meal of the day. Katie gets all her volleyball stuff ready and is out the door for school. She is normally not nervous about the game and has an academic day. Sometimes on big game days it is hard for her to concentrate on school work prior to the game, knowing there is a lot of pressure on her to succeed later that night. Katie gets all her work done prior to her game to get it out of the way so she can go home and recover after. Kracke does not have a particular recovery routine for after the game but she might ice here and there if she is sore.
Katie says that she loves the team bonding before games at the team meals and really enjoys building chemistry before the game. She claims that a lot of nervousness is gone when she is with her team before the game because it shows that they are all in it together and it is a team effort.
Another student athlete, star varsity running back Patrick “Patty” Kelly, described what it is like in school and preparing for the game on a Friday for San Marcos football. Patty wakes up around 7 and makes sure to have all of his gear ready. He says that on most Fridays it is hard to focus because of the game and the adrenaline. He does not have time to eat breakfast before school and is normally out the door in a hurry. Patty loves the team meal before the game.
“It’s good for the team to get into a mindset of being a family and the tri-tip and pasta is perfect for right before the game,” he said.
Kelly says he would like to have the meals the day before, so he can get good rest on a full stomach. He says he does not get nervous before games. He used to when he was a sophomore, but now he is used to the feeling of preparing for battle.
This is what it takes to be a great athlete on and off the court and field! A special thanks to Patrick and Katie for sharing their daily routine to be the best! GO ROYALS!
