The Athletics Department has rolled out new requirements for High Performance Center sessions for winter and spring athletes.  

The new requirements stipulate that students participating in a winter or spring sport must complete a minimum of 15 HPC workouts prior to the start of their season. Students participating in a sport during the previous athletic season will be exempt from the mandatory workouts.  

Since fall sport athletes have a requirement of at least 20 workouts during the summer, these mandatory workouts are designed to help winter and spring athletes get a similar advantage, according to Director of Sports Performance Jessen Houston. 

The workouts should strengthen any weaknesses an athlete might have coming off a long offseason.  

Houston said the workouts are aimed at delivering transformative changes with muscle development, speed development, aerobic and anaerobic endurance and mobility.  

An athlete that fails to complete the required mandatory workouts before the start of their season will have to complete reinforcement disciplinary sessions. Some leniency will be given during the initial transition period, according to Houston. 

“Eventually we want it to be a hard cut, a hard consequence,” said Houston. 

Athlete Opinions 

Some Greenhill athletes questioned the new policy. 

Junior Connor Lee says the requirement is flawed because it doesn’t take into account the off-campus training an athlete might be doing.  

“I find it very silly because I have club sports during the fall, and I worked out with coaches,” said Lee. “So, I’d rather work out with my [club] coach than do the HPC lifts because they are more personalized to me.” 

Other students say the mandatory workouts have helped prepare them for the season. 

Junior Jaxson Thompson, a boys varsity basketball captain, says the weightlifting sessions help build team chemistry. 

“We always go do the lifts together,” said Thompson. “It makes the lifts more enjoyable when you do it with the team. It also helps get to know the people that might be new to the team.” 

Further Reform 

The new workout requirements for winter and spring athletes is part of a broader series of changes being implemented by the Sports Performance coaches.  

The track program will be an area of special emphasis for the Athletics Department, since more than 100 people have indicated their participation in the sport. With so many students signed up for track, the Sports Performance staff is looking for alternative ways to give proper preseason training to these athletes. 

“We want to make sure that everyone has an experience that benefits where they are in their paradigm of fitness and athleticism,” said Houston. “We want to make sure everyone has an opportunity to get better. And with numbers that big, we have to be very strategic to accomplish that.” 

Other previously incorporated changes include showcasing an “athlete of the week” on the High Performance Center’s Instagram account.  There are also plans for more athletic performance tests.  

Since the new requirements were announced, High Performance Center attendance numbers have been at a record high for preseason athletics, according to Houston. 

“We have had more people doing preseason work for their winter sport than we’ve ever seen,” said Houston. “Since I’ve been here, the seven years I’ve been here, in the two weeks that we’ve done this, so far, we’ve seen way more athletes than we’ve ever seen.”