Summer and the Off Season

We encourage our boys to attend event camps and to compete in summer track programs. Ignatius has begun building its own summer camp and training program, the Ignatius Summer Speed Camp and the Wolfpack Track Club. “Open track,” also known as “Winter Running Club,” meets in the weeks before the official season begins. These are supervised runs organized by the boys themselves. As our team attempts to meet higher goals, this off season training becomes more important to the success of our team and for individual athletes.

What we do in Winter Track

In the winter we emphasize 1) learning techniques and drills that teach the principles of your event and 2) developing a fitness base of strength and endurance. You will build on that base in the spring when we train to peak with the year’s best performances in the most important meets of the year—Chicago Catholic League Championships (early May) and the Sectional and State meets (end of May).

We tell our athletes that every minute of practice in the winter counts toward better performances at the end of the spring. You can’t go back in time to make up what you missed, and practice is a cumulative activity. You get better with time and consistent effort. Avoiding injuries, therefore, is especially important in the winter. Winter training emphasizes volume and general strength and endurance. This training provides the building base for speed and explosiveness training in the spring.

We do race in the winter, but we treat these meets almost as practice events for athletes to develop competitiveness, fitness, and experience in their events. These events should be fun. Athletes should try not to feel any undue pressure or worry—and they should have fun! (Perhaps later in the spring they can feel more pressure—and still have fun!)

The transition event from winter development to spring competition is the indoor Catholic League meet held in mid-March at the year’s final indoor meet, where you can evaluate progress before outdoor competition begins.

What we do in Spring Track

Spring is the competition season for track and field. We compete regularly, sometimes twice weekly, through April and May.

Training regimens change during this period. The emphasis shifts from general strength and endurance training to specific speed and explosiveness training. Volumes decrease, and intensity increases.

Athletes should improve through these competitions, and they should perform at their best at the end of season meets. For varsity athletes, these events are the Catholic League Championships and the State Series. For freshmen and sophomores, their season peaks at the Catholic League Frosh/Soph meet.