Aggielife
The Battalion
Page 3 • Tuesday, June 1, 2004
Athletes in the off season
Just because summer is here doesn y t m£& n student athletes take a break
By Jimmy Hissong
THE BATTALION
For the majority of students, summertime
means flip-flops and suntan lotion. Daily rou
tines and schedules enter a realm of distant
memories, while poolside relaxation becomes a
priority. Aside from where and when classes
start and stop, the only other piece of informa
tion that holds any relevancy is how long some
one can lie on his stomach before the skin on his
back starts to sizzle.
Janet DeGroat, a junior marketing major and
member of the A&M women’s golf team, has
replaced her flip-flops and suntan lotion with golf
spikes and a nine iron.
In addition to a full-time summer course load,
she must allocate time to keep her golf game up
to par. DeGroat and other student athletes view
the months from June to August as extra time to
train to reach a desired level of competition for
the fall season.
Committed student athletes begin and end
their days with the sport to which they are devot
ed. Erin Briskie, a junior agricultural life sciences
major and member of the A&M women's swim
team, describes her day as starting and stopping
with swimming.
Like a few other student athletes, Briskie
has managed to turn her talent into financial
benefit. She tries to mix her daily routine up a
bit by saving some time for herself and her
friends but, come the month of June, she is
busy balancing her own personal training with
the time she puts in as a swim camp counselor.
“I made sure to have all of my classes really
early,” DeGroat said, “that way I can have all of
the afternoon to practice.”
DeGroat said she tries to make her way over
to the gym by lunchtime so there is still plenty
of time to squeeze in a round or two after
working out.
“The longer summer daylight hours definitely
help out,” DeGroat said.
DeGroat usually finds enough time during the
week to be out on the course at least three times.
But when she isn't counting strokes, she is per
fecting her swing on the range.
DeGroat will attempt to compete on an indi
vidual basis throughout the summer but, during
this first summer session, tournament play is sim
ply out of the question. Most tournaments involve
three, four or even five days of play with as much
as 36 holes each day. In addition to these time
constraints, she must also come up with the
entrance fees and travel expenses on her own. As
a result, DeGroat will likely compete in only
four or five individual tournaments this summer.
Competition is what helps these student athletes
maintain a desired peak of performance.
The typical student athlete must often endure
many burdens to find a certain desirable level of
competition.
Kati Jo Spisak, a junior agricultural education
major and goalkeeper for the A&M women’s
soccer team, has been city-hopping for weeks
and will continue to do so throughout the sum
mer until the A&M team training starts up again
in August.
At the end of April, Spisak was in Los
Angeles. From there she traveled with the nation
al Women’s Under-21 team to Brazil where she
competed against the Sao Paulo University team
and the Brazilian All-Star team. Spisak is cur
rently in Florida competing along with A&M
teammates Amanda Burke, Laura Probst, and
Becky Olsen.
“It’s not bad here,” Spisak said. “We work a
lot, but at least we are two minutes away from
the beach instead of two minutes away from
Lake Bryan.”
The women get the chance to compete every
weekend, but the weekdays are crammed with
practice, running and lifting.
Suzzette Devloo, a sophomore marketing
major and member of the A&M women’s track
team, is certainly no stranger to a rigorous train
ing schedule either. Devloo will spend countless
hours in and around the gym training this summer
to become a triathlete.
Devloo is training with a few other track team
members. Although the three of them stick to a
strict schedule, she said there is not as much pres
sure during the off-season.
“We usually have a little more time to relax
during the off-season,” Devloo said
However, Devloo’s idea of relaxation and fun
is significantly different from that of the average
college student.
“I usually like to relax with a good post-work
out swim conditioning,” Devloo said.
At the end of July, Devloo plans to participate
Ruben DeLuna •THE BATTALION
in her first triathlon of the summer with team
mates Annie Burnett and Phil Stephenson.
For fun, Devloo will complete her third of the
short- distance race: a 20-mile bike ride.
E
E
L
"Super Size Me"
Directed by Morgan Spurlock
Starring Morgan Spurlock
Samuel Goldwyn Films
Many people scoffed when two private American citizens made
headlines by suing fast food god McDonald’s. How could the
blame of the fattening of an entire nation be pinned on the golden
arches? Besides, there was absolutely no proof that Big Macs even
made people fat. Some claimed that they could even be a key part
of a balanced diet.
After reading about the case, skeptic Morgan Spurlock took it
upon himself to test the theory of fatty fast foods and to film it
every step of the way.
Armed with a handful of medical practitioners, a nutritionist,
cardiologist, general family doctor and sports trainer, Spurlock sets
out to only eat food exclusively from the McDonald’s menu for an
entire 30 days. There were only three rules:
1) No options: Spurlock could only eat what was available over
the counter (water included).
2) No Super Sizing unless offered.
3) No excuses: Spurlock had to eat each item on the menu at
least once.
Finding humor in the experiment, most of the doctors hypothe
sized that nothing significant would change and that the short
length of the experiment would invalidate any results found.
Wrong.
Halfway through the film, Spurlock’s doctors and his vegan girl
friend beg for him to stop, or to at least to take a multivitamin, as
the doctors are stunned by the damage that the exclusively “gold
en” caloric content of his diet does on his insides. One doctor
compares what is happening to Spurlock’s body as frightingly simi
lar to the abuse suffered by a binge drinker. Imagine, instead of
water, only vodka for an entire month.This film also features facts
about the fast food industry and examines many possible causes of
our nation’s health problems.
Citing obesity as the number two cause of preventable death -
behind smoking - Spurlock visits grade school to examine what
foods kids are being served. One fourth-grade cafeteria diner
explains that french fries as vegetables and chocolate milk consti
tute a hearty meal.
In Texas, Spurlock is asked to Super Size his meal more times
than anywhere else in the nation. The film notes that Texas is one
of the fattest states in the United States.
“Super Size Me” is a well-made and entertaining film that raises
more questions than answers, but points its finger at the growing
problem ingesting our nation and brings awareness in an interesting
and comedic way — a great indie film that is a great relief from the
cookie-cutter movies of the summer. This is a very enjoyable
movie that may make the viewer think twice before digging into his
next double cheeseburger.
-Daniel Chapman
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