By Nick Brockman
Messenger Sports Reporter
nbrockman@the-messenger.com
Earlybird shoppers hunting for post-Christmas deals will not be the only Hopkins County residents awake this morning.
Members of the Madisonville-North Hopkins swim team will hold practice from 5:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. as part of their winter break schedule.
Lady Maroon swimmer Rachel Dorris said the team has given the Christmas-time practices a rather dubious moniker for their grueling regimen and extra half-hour of work.
"It's notoriously known as Hell Week," she said.
Teammate Ellen Whittington described why the workouts are so strenuous.
nbrockman@the-messenger.com
Earlybird shoppers hunting for post-Christmas deals will not be the only Hopkins County residents awake this morning.
Members of the Madisonville-North Hopkins swim team will hold practice from 5:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. as part of their winter break schedule.
Lady Maroon swimmer Rachel Dorris said the team has given the Christmas-time practices a rather dubious moniker for their grueling regimen and extra half-hour of work.
"It's notoriously known as Hell Week," she said.
Teammate Ellen Whittington described why the workouts are so strenuous.
"Times go up dramatically and our sets get harder and longer and not as much as rest, not as much messing around and having fun time," she said. "It's all about work."
Whittington's sister, Carli, said for the North swimmers, winter vacation does not provide much rest and relaxation.
"It's so hard for the next two weeks because we're like 'Oh, it's Christmas break, no school and we get to chill with our friends,' " Carli said. "But then we have to go to bed early and then we have to wake up for two hours (of practice)."
Each of the North swimmers has been jumping in the pool at 5:30 a.m. since the season began. Coach Jason Clark requires his team to be on deck at the Hopkins County Family YMCA at 5:15 a.m. for stretching.
That means most members, including Clark, must wake up at 4:30 a.m.
To help the athletes adjust to the time, Clark said he suggests the swimmers adjust their clocks ahead incrementally each week until the first practice.
Dorris wouldn't call out any of her teammates, but said she's not sure everyone prepares as Clark suggests
"It sounds like a good idea, but waking up for me -- I just jump right into it," she said. "I don't really do anything differently other than going to bed earlier and getting up earlier. I actually look forward to getting up early. Swim season is my favorite part of the year."
Micah Adams said the provided breakfasts from team parents can be a big lift after a difficult workout.
"Breakfast definitely helps because we get a lot of eggs," he said. "I eat breakfast and it's harder to pay attention in school sometimes, but you can force yourself to do it. I go to sleep at 9 p.m. now, so I still get eight hours."
Adams described the typical morning meal at the Y.
"It usually consists of like a breakfast casserole, fruit, juice," he said. "We get that after the showers and eat it pretty fast before we go to school."
Dorris and the Whittingon duo lamented about the little amount of time they have to prepare for school after practice.
"We have about 30 minutes to take a shower, get our makeup on and get dressed and go out and eat," Ellen said.
Carli and Dorris said the approximately 20 Lady Maroon swimmers must act as an assembly line and take turns to finish getting ready in time.
Clark said in addition to athletics, the kids learn life skills by taking part in the ritual morning schedule.
"Time management is something that we really preach," he said. "I think the kids are very well-prepared after high school graduation for college. They have to have that level of time management to be successful."
Adams said he agreed and felt he learned discipline from balancing his daily responsibilities with swimming.
During Clark's swimming days at North in the early 1990s, he practiced from 3:30 to 5 p.m. each day. The early training began after Clark's graduation as a result of former coach Charly Rothe.
Rothe changed the practice times nearly 10 years ago because they did not coordinate with his work schedule and it has stuck ever since.
"I don't think it was an easy transition at first, but now everybody that's associated with the team is accustomed to it, so it's not a problem," Clark said. "We would probably have a few more participants if we practiced in the afternoon, but I don't think we would get the same level of dedication and commitment as we do with the kids that get up."
Waking up is just the beginning, Carli said.
"It's not about just getting up and doing it," she said. "Once you get there, the practices aren't just all lawdy-dawdy-da, they're intense workouts for an hour and a half straight."
This week they'll be 30 minutes longer though and Dorris said there are few better feelings than finishing a Hell Week workout.
"One of the best parts is going back and sleeping," she said.
Whittington's sister, Carli, said for the North swimmers, winter vacation does not provide much rest and relaxation.
"It's so hard for the next two weeks because we're like 'Oh, it's Christmas break, no school and we get to chill with our friends,' " Carli said. "But then we have to go to bed early and then we have to wake up for two hours (of practice)."
Each of the North swimmers has been jumping in the pool at 5:30 a.m. since the season began. Coach Jason Clark requires his team to be on deck at the Hopkins County Family YMCA at 5:15 a.m. for stretching.
That means most members, including Clark, must wake up at 4:30 a.m.
To help the athletes adjust to the time, Clark said he suggests the swimmers adjust their clocks ahead incrementally each week until the first practice.
Dorris wouldn't call out any of her teammates, but said she's not sure everyone prepares as Clark suggests
"It sounds like a good idea, but waking up for me -- I just jump right into it," she said. "I don't really do anything differently other than going to bed earlier and getting up earlier. I actually look forward to getting up early. Swim season is my favorite part of the year."
Micah Adams said the provided breakfasts from team parents can be a big lift after a difficult workout.
"Breakfast definitely helps because we get a lot of eggs," he said. "I eat breakfast and it's harder to pay attention in school sometimes, but you can force yourself to do it. I go to sleep at 9 p.m. now, so I still get eight hours."
Adams described the typical morning meal at the Y.
"It usually consists of like a breakfast casserole, fruit, juice," he said. "We get that after the showers and eat it pretty fast before we go to school."
Dorris and the Whittingon duo lamented about the little amount of time they have to prepare for school after practice.
"We have about 30 minutes to take a shower, get our makeup on and get dressed and go out and eat," Ellen said.
Carli and Dorris said the approximately 20 Lady Maroon swimmers must act as an assembly line and take turns to finish getting ready in time.
Clark said in addition to athletics, the kids learn life skills by taking part in the ritual morning schedule.
"Time management is something that we really preach," he said. "I think the kids are very well-prepared after high school graduation for college. They have to have that level of time management to be successful."
Adams said he agreed and felt he learned discipline from balancing his daily responsibilities with swimming.
During Clark's swimming days at North in the early 1990s, he practiced from 3:30 to 5 p.m. each day. The early training began after Clark's graduation as a result of former coach Charly Rothe.
Rothe changed the practice times nearly 10 years ago because they did not coordinate with his work schedule and it has stuck ever since.
"I don't think it was an easy transition at first, but now everybody that's associated with the team is accustomed to it, so it's not a problem," Clark said. "We would probably have a few more participants if we practiced in the afternoon, but I don't think we would get the same level of dedication and commitment as we do with the kids that get up."
Waking up is just the beginning, Carli said.
"It's not about just getting up and doing it," she said. "Once you get there, the practices aren't just all lawdy-dawdy-da, they're intense workouts for an hour and a half straight."
This week they'll be 30 minutes longer though and Dorris said there are few better feelings than finishing a Hell Week workout.
"One of the best parts is going back and sleeping," she said.
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