Dead Week Gives Athletes Period of Rest

Dead week will begin on Monday, Nov. 11 for those students participating in a winter sport with tryouts taking place the following week. Because the lengthy winter sports season runs from November to March, a dead week is implemented by the state to give athletes a break between fall and winter sports.

“After the fall season ends, I usually try to focus on my classes as much as I can and get my grades up,” junior Jordan Kiehl said. Kiehl plays volleyball in the fall and basketball in the winter. “I also try doing things that will help me at tryouts like going to sleep earlier and eating better.”

Along with giving athletes involved in a fall sport a break, dead week also allows those who have been conditioning for winter sports and their coaches to have a break before tryouts.

“You’ll notice a lot of winter sports coaches may be gone next week,” Athletic Director Kelli Kurle said. “A lot of them take a day off before it gets started. That’s pretty common.”

For those players and coaches whose season may overlap dead week and the beginning of winter sports season, they will have to double up and work with both teams without a break. Since postseason play is continuing for football, the football team will be allowed to practice.

Tryouts for winter sports will begin on Nov. 18 and run anywhere from two to five days depending on the sport. Boys’ swim and dive and wrestling will have their first practice Nov.18 after school. Basketball tryouts will begin after school next week from 3 to 6 p.m. for sophomores, juniors and seniors in the gym followed by freshmen tryouts directly after. Bowling will not have tryouts until the week after Thanksgiving.