On the NESCAC calendar, Feb. 15 was marked as the official start date for spring seasons. But Tufts athletes know better.
While the spring season only lasts from mid-February to early May, with competitions beginning in mid-March, for many spring athletes, the Feb. 15 practice starting date was the culmination of work that began in the fall. And with season openers just weeks away, teams' practice and scrimmage schedules are starting to heat up, even if the weather isn't.
"We have optional workouts in the fall where we scrimmage against each other and lift," said senior Zak Smotherman, a pitcher on the baseball team. "We do a lot of things as a team in the fall. It's a chance [for the freshmen] to meet upperclassmen and break into the team gradually."
Due to the warmer weather and infrequent snow storms this year, the lacrosse team, usually banished to the confines of Gantcher during the late fall and winter months, has been able to get in some practice this preseason.
The softball team has been unable to take advantage of the temperate winter, however, as the dirt diamond at Spicer Field has been too wet to use during the winter months. The team has been holding most of its practices, as well as its Monday night scrimmages, in the Carzo Cage.
"We go outside if we can," coach Cheryl Milligan said. "Right now the fields aren't ready - they're too wet - but if there's no more snow, we may get out there in a couple of days. We have a turf field, so we can plow the snow off the field and get outfielders out there."
After a brief hiatus for winter break, teams kicked their workout regimens into high gear with captains' practices and more formal team get-togethers, meeting three or four times a week to prepare for the official practices on Feb. 15. The baseball team holds captains' practices in which pitchers build up their arms and throw lightly and hitters refine their swings by hitting off of tees.
"Everyone slowly gets back into it, so when we really start practices, we can begin at a higher tempo than if we were starting from scratch," Smotherman said.
Since competitions begin around spring break, coaches have only one month to work with their players. This short time span, along with the nationally competitive teams that appear on many of Tufts' spring break schedules, makes the fall workouts and captains' practices even more crucial to early-season success.
"Unfortunately that's how the rules [regarding the mandatory late practice dates] are," said sophomore Erica Bailey, a pitcher and first baseman on the softball team. "As a team we have to take it upon ourselves to be ready for the season. We take captains' practices seriously; it's important to be there and get in the groove."
With many teams' season openers occurring during spring break, Tufts teams often start their seasons on unfamiliar terrain, traveling across the country to train in warmer weather. The softball team will trek all the way to Orange, Calif. to play 12 games in the Sun West Tournament. The women's lacrosse team will play a tournament in West Palm Beach, Florida; and the baseball team will head to North Carolina.
"The team really gets a sense of itself when we throw 20 girls in a house and 12 tough teams at them," Milligan said. "We can play more games than when classes are in session and we play more games outside. It's really an invaluable experience and a great way to kick off the season."
These tournaments also give the teams time to incorporate freshmen and build cohesive units before their NESCAC schedules begin in late-March and early-April.
"The spring tournament is extremely important to our team chemistry and our game," Bailey said. "We face great teams in California - West Coast teams tend to be a bit stronger. After the tournament we come back and we're a team and a unit."
