While the majority of students are looking forward to heading home over fall break, over 300 student-athletes will be staying on campus for at least a portion of the nine-day recess.
The eleven teams that will remain on campus include fall sports such as football, the men’s and women’s soccer teams, the men’s and women’s cross country teams, volleyball and field hockey. Joining them will also be winter sports including the men’s and women’s basketball teams and men’s and women’s swimming and diving.
While all eleven teams are on campus, some squads allow players to return home for a few days. Women’s soccer players are allowed to leave campus for two days on the 19th and 20th. Similarly, the women’s swimming and diving teams allows members return home after practice on Thursday 23rd but expect them to return on Sunday the 26th. This small grace period works well for students who live in the Midwest, but those that live more than a few hours away are often stuck.
“For the people who live too far away to go home, its unfortunate,” Jen Dimos said, a sophomore women’s soccer player.
During fall break most athletes maintain their normal living arrangements, continuing to live in their fraternity house, or residence hall. The situation gets trickier with female student-athletes who live in sorority houses. During breaks from classes, most sorority houses close and do not allow members to remain even if their sport requires it.
DePauw does not offer any help in these situations leaving female athletes to fend for themselves.
“You have to ask your friends and figure it out yourself,” Annie Wyman said, a sophomore field hockey player. Wyman is planning on living in a sorority sister’s room in Rector Village.
With the absence of classes, winter teams, who are in pre-season, utilize the break to extend practices or add an additional workout.
“We’re usually spending 4-5 hours a day between workouts and practices,” senior Casey Hooker, one of the co-captains of the men’s swimming and diving team, said.
Tommy Fernitz, a senior center for the men’s basketball team stated that basketball has a similar time commitment. “We have a hard practice in the morning and then a lighter one in the afternoon with a lifting session as well,” he said.
Fall teams who are in the midst of their seasons and are playing games have a less rigorous schedule.
“[Practice] is at least once a day and we also usually have team lunches, “Dimos said.
The field hockey team has a similar plan, practicing only once during days in between the four games they are scheduled to play in the nine-day period.
Despite the large time commitment demanded by all teams, most student-athletes have a great deal of down time. This time outside of team activities is often spent with teammates.
“I like it a lot because you’re with your teammates the whole time,” sophomore swimmer Jimmy McDonnell said.
Jake Pezzuto, a junior goalkeeper, voiced a similar opinion, “You’re spending time at practice with your teammates. Out of practice you’re either eating with teammates [and] lifting with teammates. It’s a team bonding thing.”
Some teams have even developed team traditions such as the men’s cross country squad, which attends the Parke County Covered Bridge Festival as a team every fall break. The men’s basketball team keeps their tradition a little closer to home, tailgating and attending a DePauw football game.
When athletes are not at practice or spending time with teammates, many take advantage of the time to rest and get schoolwork done.
“You can catch up on sleep, homework,” McDonnell said. “Anything that you haven’t been able to do during the normal school week you can catch up on.”
While remaining on campus for fall break is not an ideal situation, fall and winter athletes make do. As Fenitz put it, “It’s really not that bad.”