It’s that time of the year when summer is winding down.

It always seems like the time flies right after the fourth of July.

This time means two things.

One important thing is training.

For the fall sports, this time is like a countdown until preseason.

I know that rugby only has about four and a half weeks left until preseason starts.

That is four and a half weeks of training left.

Some athletes look at this time in one of two ways.

Athletes can look at this time as hard training time because they might have slacked off a bit for the first half of the summer.

Other athletes can look at this as easy training because they have kept up with their workouts.

Whatever the case may be, it is still training time and every bit helps.

Personally, I’m using this time to stay in shape and to help get ready for the mile.

Every preseason we have a goal time for the mile. While also being in track toward the end of the school year, I just try to maintain my endurance during the first part of the summer.

When I get closer to preseason, then I start to work a little bit on my speed and agility.

That way I don’t feel uncoordinated trying to do all of our drills and I get my lateral speed back.

Now another important thing about this time of the summer is relaxing.

These are the last few weeks we have until classes start.

This is the time where students need to just take a vacation.

Go out and do something you’ve always wanted to do, or something you said you would do at the beginning of the summer.

This time is nice to have because once school starts, there is no turning back.

The only vacation time you get is when Thanksgiving and Christmas break come around.

I’m trying to plan my time wisely.

Thursday of this week is my birthday, so I’m going to spend it with my family and closest friends.

Then after the weekend I’m going to have to pack up and move into a new apartment.

That week is going to be hectic and there won’t be much time for fun.

However, that is why I’ve planned a trip with my brother, Andy.

It’s going to be sort of like my last summer Hurrah until preseason starts.

My advice to student-athletes is this: train hard your last few weeks, but also have fun.

Plan something that you’ve always wanted to do and enjoy every minute of it because it will be a while until you have that moment again.