Miles Files: Skipping the dip, Miles signs for cross country Miles Files: Skipping the dip, Miles signs for cross country (September 21, 2005)

By Miles McMullin

Freshman, Menlo-Atherton High School

Jumping into the cold water at 6 a.m. and swimming laps is not my cup of tea. But it is exactly what many water polo players do everyday, conditioning for high school tournaments.

"Hitting the water in the early morning hours is all part of what you have to do," says John Deggelman, a Sacred Heart Prep frosh water polo player. "Players must be in top-notch shape."

Water polo is one of the toughest sports to play because of the enormous amount of conditioning it takes. My brother Mason is on the varsity water polo team at Menlo School, and he spends an average of three hours a day conditioning for the sport.

At my school, Menlo-Atherton High, there are three fall sports for male students: football, water polo and cross country.

I signed up for cross country. Returning varsity male runners were required to run 100 miles during the summer to keep in shape. Freshmen were encouraged to run as well.

I ran a lot over the summer, approximately 72 miles, and I was ready for the season. Never having been a runner, I now love the sport and am very glad I got into it. I think a lot of my enthusiasm is due to my coaches Eric Wilmurt and Kelly Weston, who know how to motivate their runners.

Other high school sports are even more strenuous. Football players practice up to three hours a day, sometimes in the scorching sun. They started two weeks before school began.

"Football is great, but practices in the hot sun with pads are not the best part of the sport," says my good friend Alec Konopnicki, a freshman at Sacred Heart Prep.

It's a good thing the schools offer these sports because no matter which sport you pick, it will test you and make you a better team player. Just don't make me jump in the water at 6 a.m.!

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