Lily Peng

Varsity girls volleyball coach Theresa Smith sets up a net before a training session. ““I had 11 players who committed to the summer schedule,” Smith said. “That kind of preparation helps us start our season right.”

For spectators, the fall season begins with the first whistle of the opening game. For athletes and coaches, it begins weeks or even months earlier in the summer, during which they lay the groundwork to maximize their team’s success. The lead-up to the fall season provides a unique opportunity to prepare as much as possible, giving their team an early advantage even before the first whistle blows.

Varsity girls volleyball coach Theresa Smith begins preparing in the summer with open-gym sessions, during which players practice and condition on campus. Smith has seen how this form of preseason training helps the team get off to a good start in September, especially since the team has moved up to the Foothill Division of the West Bay Athletic League this year.

“I had 11 players who committed to the summer schedule,” Smith said. “That kind of preparation helps us start our season right. The Foothill Division [will be] a more challenging, night in, night out battle, but we approach every season the same — with discipline, respect, heart and the guts to overachieve.”

Over the summer, Smith visited the University of Southern California women’s volleyball team during their first week of fall training and reconnected with head coach Brad Keller (’94). Smith credits her experiences observing, speaking to and learning from the Trojans with preparing her to coach the Harker varsity girls volleyball team. 

The varsity girls water polo team also begins practices during the summer, which include swimming, weight and conditioning sessions. Coach László Szieben believes laying the foundations for a good season during the summer frees up more time for strategy planning during the fall. 

“Conditioning before summer is a big part of getting a good start to the season,” Szieben said. “It’s good to get that portion done now so that we’re able to focus more on tactics during the season. There are some girls who haven’t done club over the summer and haven’t played for almost nine months, so it’s very important to be practicing before the season starts.”

Szieben also takes advantage of the preseason to address any physical or technical issues in the team as much as possible before they can affect the season performance. The summer also serves as a transition period from the previous year’s team to a new one, in which new players join and returning players take up new responsibilities.

While sports like volleyball and water polo emphasize conditioning and technical preparation, the cross country team spent time developing endurance and consistency over the summer. The team welcomed new head coach Jorge Chen, who spent the past few months building a tight-knit community and training the runners. 

“In the first few weeks, my main goal is to create this culture where we feel like family and where kids could work really hard in the classroom and also relax and have fun out on the trails,” Chen said. “I told the kids every single workout and race I do has a purpose in order to challenge them while having a little bit of fun at the same time.”

Chen emphasized how much he values the dedication his runners displayed during summer training and how excited he is to guide them in the upcoming fall season. 

“I really appreciate these kids because on day one, the main thing I asked from them was to commit,” Chen said. “We had close to 30 kids even before school started, and that was very promising. Nowadays, it’s pretty rare to coach kids that are willing to work with coaches for a long-term goal, but these kids are so respectful of the coaches, they communicate well with us, and they trust us. I’m very excited for this season and for this program.”