As Coronado approaches the end of the season for Spring Sports, there has been a sharp incline in the amount of pansies here at Coronado High School. Some athletes are under the impression that the season is already over, and find no need to go to practice every day. A long run?! Sounds way too exhausting. Workout today? Naw, I’ll pass.

While we are all students before we are athletes, athletics are very important to a healthy lifestyle, and are too competitive on the high school level to be skipping practices and expecting to still perform well. All athletes across all sports need to stay committed to their sports and attend all possible practices.

Alas, there are always exceptions. If you have been throwing up since 3AM last night, it may not be the best idea to come to practice much less school that day, but I promise you that a little sniffle will not stop you from running a lap or swinging a bat.

There are plenty of valid excuses to miss practice, such as sickness, doctor’s appointments, dentist’s appointments, shoulder surgery, traveling to Harry Potter World… the possibilities are endless!

The most important thing is to tell your coach that you will be missing practice and explain why. Simply choosing to not attend because you don’t want to, or not explaining to your coach why you are absent will not only harm your athletic performance, but also reflect poorly on your credibility.

Remember, we are all students before we are athletes, but let’s make sure we are staying committed to our Spring Sports. We are not a school of pansies, so let’s prove it to our teammates, our coaches, and most importantly, ourselves.