On August 19, Peddie’s fall term athletes returned to campus to start getting prepared for their 2024 season. Varsity preseason at Peddie is a two-week experience and is unique because it gives teams the opportunity to spend the first week living together on campus. This allows athletes to connect with their teammates outside of practice. Teams participated in many different bonding activities, including team meals, spike ball tournaments and community service events. Another exciting event that took place during this first week of preseason was when motivational speaker Keith Wilford came and led all of the teams in exercises that helped them learn about how important teamwork is.
The key focus of preseason is truly getting to know the people that you will be working with for the rest of the season and building valuable connections. According to Varsity Field Hockey Captain Sophie DiCola ’25, “Preseason was an amazing opportunity to understand and get to know our teammates off the field and see them as friends instead of just players.” Preseason is a vital time for team bonding and really sets a precedent for the rest of the season. In addition to getting to know teammates outside of sports, it was important for teams to get started on their practices and even participate in scrimmages against other teams.
It is important to start the season off on the right foot; putting in hard work during preseason gives rise to both athletic skill and team dynamic improvements that make the rest of the season that much better. As Girls Varsity Tennis Co-Captain Danae Carvajal ’25said, “In the preseason workouts, challenger match play and team bonding activities, everyone always works towards the same goal of being their absolute best.” While outside of practice players are forming friendships, during practices they are challenging each other to improve and ultimately work harder and better as a team. Overall, preseason is an excellent experience for athletes and helps them create the skills and friendships they will have for the rest of the season and for a long time after that.
