Early Mornings for DCSB
Jordan Osborne (Defiance, OH)
From January 25th all the way to March 3rd, one thing has been daunting the Defiance College Softball team: 5 a.m.’s. Members of the team wake up Monday through Saturday between 3:30 and 4 in order to start practice at 5 in the morning. It’s a long and treacherous six weeks, but it is not without rewards.
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While waking up at 3:30 in the morning may seem like the end of the world to a college student, the members of Team 35 enjoy and prefer having morning practices. Junior Emily Denhard says that 5 a.m.’s are better than afternoon practices because “they get you up and going at the start of the day rather than practice taking up a chunk of time in the middle of the afternoon.” Freshman Jordyn Worley says that “you have the rest of the day to focus on your studies and to make sure you well nutrition your body properly. You’re not rushed for practice after class and you’re already going.”
The rewards come in all shapes and sizes. Senior Makayla McAvoy says “I’m going to miss 5 a.m.’s. Having an early morning practice helps you bond with the team because you are seeing people in a different part of the day that you normally wouldn’t. At that time of day, people are completely different. You learn how they react to certain things in the morning when they aren’t quite awake. You learn their work ethic at that time of day. Everyone just bonds so much different in the morning than in the afternoon.”
While that first week of practices is hellish because everyone is exhausted, everyone’s sleep schedules are a mess, everyone is sore, and it starts to get harder to stay motivated and excited to wake up for practice, 5 a.m.’s offer so much to the Defiance College Softball team. It offers the chance to grow with your team, to learn how your teammates react under stress, to appreciate every opportunity you have, and why you play the game in the first place. Having practice at 5 in the morning helps you rediscover why you love the sport. 5 a.m.’s are a major step in the process that will lead DCSB Team 35 to success this season.
