BSM offers a full calendar of athletic opportunities for Red Knights to participate in year round. Although sports are only in season for a short period of time, athletes are able to continue training with their teams during their offseasons.

Because the teams are able to meet during the offseason, they are able to connect earlier which leads to a better overall experience and team performance. This time together allows teammates to become friends and build chemistry for their upcoming season. “I definitely think it helps us get stronger, bond as a team, and get closer together. [We are able] to build up some chemistry,” sophomore Slater Crandell said.

The Football team does a lot of offseason training. The boys lift weights in the BSM weight room Monday through Thursdays and also have seven on seven passes during the winter. This is a new thing this year that the team believes will improve future performance. “I definitely like it because it helps build relationships so you have a stronger bond going into the season knowing who you’re playing with and the relationships are already kind of developed so you don’t have to spend time building something new,” Crandall said.

The Girls Hockey team also participates in offseason training. “We have a summer training program where we get to skate and we have different trainers come and teach us [different] things. We also can do off ice training that improves our strength,” freshman Ellie Stewart said.

Because most of the hockey team participates in the summer training, they are able to spend more time together. “I do enjoy training with the team, because I get to know them more. And then when we are on the same line, you have better chemistry so you’re able to create more [chances] in a game,” Stewart said.

The summer training program is designed to accommodate the team’s busy schedule. While it is not mandatory most people try to attend as much as they can. “You basically show up whenever you can. They encourage you to show up when you can, but it’s not mandatory,” Stewart said.

Summer is a common time for winter sports to get in extra training. Like the Girls Hockey team, the Girls Basketball team has offseason training in the summer. “We have practice three times a week in the summer, for about two hours in the morning and we do weights and it’s a lot of skill work,” junior captain Olivia Olson said.

Since most of the team participated in this training, they are able to see each other’s progression not only in the winter, but in the summer as well. It allows them to trust that all their teammates are putting in the work to make their team better. “It gets everyone playing together and we know people are working on their skills if they’re in the gym with us…It helps build team chemistry and it’s just fun to train and see the people you play with,” Olson said.

Currently, the Boys Lacrosse team is training to get ready for the upcoming spring season. “We have a lot of dome sessions and then we also have something called gamebase. This is like biometrics and a lot of turf work and footwork,” sophomore Vincent Verrett said.

While off-season training isn’t mandatory to participate in a BSM sport, players feel that it gives them a better chance of getting playing time during the season. The offseason training helps teams bond and connect before the season starts which can greatly impact a teams overall performance. “It’s not mandatory, but I feel like if you want to be good, and play a lot, you kind of have to go to this kind of stuff,” Verrett said

With off-season training, the practices are less serious. Mistakes and fumbles warrant laughs instead of punishments are disappointment. “Something funny that happened during the scrimmage during training is that Ale Espinosa face planted into the ground and then hurt his nose,” junior Boys Soccer player Ben Dietzen said.

Some of the most light hearted and laughable memories of the season come about during off-season training. “We were playing soccer to warm up because it was cold outside. This new seventh grader almost got kicked in the face with the ball coming really fast at her. She got so scared and wanted to quit, but she didn’t,” junior alpine ski team member Elisabeth Malrait said.