Should Sports Teams Practice on Weekends or Holidays?

There are lots of schools that have their sports teams practice during off days. Some players like the idea of this, but most do not. Many coaches think that it is a good idea to practice during breaks, but there are pros and cons to practicing during weekends and holidays.

There are lots of pros to practicing on the weekend. One of them is that you get to practice more, which will increase your skills.The players also get more exercise, so they are more fit for the games and future practices. Also, If you have a game on a Monday, and you practice on Sunday, the plays and skills that you practiced, are fresh in your mind. If they are fresh in your mind, then you won’t forget the plays under the pressure of the game. You also get to see the people on your team more, so the team will be more bonded and be able to play the game better together.

There are also cons to practicing on the weekends and holidays. Some of the cons are that if you have plans that holiday or weekend, you have to cancel them or miss practice. If the coach makes you miss or cancel family events, then it is not only impacting  the players, but it is also impacting the families of the players. If you have to miss practice though, you could miss a game, or it could set you back during the game. Also, you have time taken away from your break. Breaks are meant to be a time to rest and get away from all the stress of school and sports. If have to worry about coming to school during the break, there is no break from the stress. Another con is that if you have a game the day after you practice, they will be worn out, and not play well the next day.

I feel that coaches should ask the players what they think about holiday and weekend practices. If they do ask, the players will feel like they have more of an input into the decision and will take that practice seriously. If they aren’t asked and they don’t want to be there, they might slack off during practice. Either way the decision is ultimately up to the coach, who is just trying to do best to the team.