By: Jay Bridgeman
As the daily countdown to winter sports continues to go down, the amount of practice hours go up for UNO athletics. The UNO women’s basketball team had their first practice on Sept. 26, and since then has increased practice time by 12 hours.
Although the added time is necessary to prepare for the season, the increase may have a huge effect on the physical health of the athletes.
UNO athletic trainers say when practice hours begin to increase, the more injuries start to appear in student athletes. There are many different factors that contribute to the increased injuries.
One being that the transition from practicing eight hours per week to 20 hours per week is taking its toll on athlete’s bodies. However, studies show that some injury prevention strategies are completely in the control of the athlete.
Factors such as good nutrition, and getting the correct amount of sleep each night plays a huge role in whether athletes are able to survive the brutal month of practice before the games begin.
