By Jackson Bartlett
The University of Nevada, Reno exists in a climate synonymous with change. Snow, rain and sunshine can all be observed in a single day during some parts of the year due to unpredictable conditions. With the inevitable seasonal changes comes a new mentality for Nevada’s athletes.
Some students find solace and opportunity during the wintry months.
“My favorite season is summer; however, I appreciate winter much more,” said senior Taylor Phillips, president of the University of Nevada Winter Sports Club. “It is the ultimate experience, and you can gain some great friends along the way.”
Participants of other athletic activities that coincide with the winter season find the prospect of falling snow and dropping temperatures to be less of an opportunity and more of a hurdle to overcome.
“Even in the off months, when it gets cold, you really have to layer up and batten down,” said intramural soccer player Nick Minor. “It’s harder to get out and just kick a ball or do some calisthenics without layers… I spent $50 on a pair of pants the other day.”
Some student-athletes at Nevada are not entirely sure of what the months ahead might bring. With such a diverse campus, there are some students who have never experienced winter, much less are trained for and participated in sports during such a time. Freshman, longtime runner and prospective women’s track and field athlete Jena Boehm likes to err on the side of caution.
“Being from Vegas and being used to running in sweltering heat, I just don’t know if my muscles and honestly, my mentality are ready for the cold yet,” Boehm said. “I have to stay healthy, I have to do research, I have to put in more time at the Lombardi Center to maintain my current fitness level.”
Boehm holds a rigorous workout schedule, dietary regimen, and is constantly checking weather reports and nutrition websites.
“The key to success is anticipation,” Boehm said. “If you know what to expect, if you condition appropriately, if you don’t stress yourself too much, and if you do more rather than less, well then, you’ve got the best chance of achieving your goals. Whether you run for fun, or around a track for a mark, you got to make sure you have a solid base to work from. Otherwise you’ll fall behind at that critical moment. If you think ahead, you finish ahead. You can’t perform your best with cold muscles, can’t finish that last lap strong on an empty stomach; and you can’t expect a whole lot of snow and freezing temperatures to not affect the dynamics of the task at hand.”
Some student outlooks are those of indifference to the weather outside the window.
“At first the snowy conditions might affect us because most of the guys aren’t used to this weather, but once you get warmed up it’s just like any other day,” said rugby player Oscar Cardoza, “practice more in the snow, that’s all it takes.”
Nevada’s wide range of NCAA, intramural, club and self driven athletes share a varying range of outlooks on how much the coming of winter will actually impact their performance in their discipline. Regardless of perspective, the coming change cannot be overlooked. Weather conditions are a major factor in the world of sports, and have the potential to drastically affect both the progression of the game and the performance of the athletes involved.
Jackson Bartlett can be reached at sports@nevdasagebrush.com.
