For many students, summer vacation serves as relief from the stress of the school year. However, for some student athletes at Miami Palmetto Senior High, the work has only just begun. Once the 2:20 p.m. bell rings on the last day of school, these athletes begin their summer practice.

MPSH Football Coach Eduardo Fernandez knows the importance of summer practice, and says that it is critical to the football team’s readiness for the season. 

“Summer practice is when we get stronger. We do a lot of plyometrics, we do a lot of core workouts and we do a lot of strength conditioning,” Fernandez said. “That’s where we get our mental toughness and our physical toughness to handle all season.”

Fernandez stressed the character development that football players undergo during the summer, an important part of their integration to the team. 

“The three pillars of our program are ‘Effort, Attitude and Toughness.’ It spells out E.A.T., so we ingrain that in the summer to every kid — that’s our motto,” Fernandez said.

Junior and basketball player Ashley Alvarado says that summer practices help the team come together as a unit. 

“Over the years, summer is a time to grind. Summer’s the time when everybody’s on vacation, but you and your team, you’re grinding, you’re getting better. Everybody’s on their butts at home or chilling. So, yeah, that’s a time when everybody’s in go mode on your team and it’s just a time to get better and time to build that connection,” Alvarado said.

Alvarado has noticed an improvement in her team’s results because of summer practice. 

“My freshman year we had an amazing season and it was just that summer before it was just every day 7 a.m. to 12 p.m..It was just hard work in and out and we saw the dedication and we saw the bond throughout the season. It starts in the summer,” Alvarado said.

Alvarado said that she has seen other teams at MPSH adopt summer practices over the years.

“Summer practices, they really do impact their season a lot, and I’ve seen it, not just from us but from other teams that have started doing it too; they’re like, ‘Wow, this actually works,’” Alvarado said.

Some sports at MPSH have athletes who stay dedicated all year. No matter the season: winter, fall, spring or summer — it is always sports season for some Panthers.