Now that the Cabrini Cavaliers are well into their fall sports season, it is time for the university’s winter athletes to start thinking about their upcoming season. Most people would think that winter athletes start preparing for their sports season towards the end of the fall season, but five of Cabrini’s elite winter athletes have been preparing for the upcoming athletic season since the last one ended.
Men’s basketball players Keith Blassingale and Mike Doyle, women’s basketball players Caroline Price and Cassidy Gallagher and women’s swimmer Katherine Buckman explained their eating habits and their workout regimens.
Keith Blassingale is entering his sophomore season on the Cabrini men’s basketball team and he could not be any more excited for the upcoming season.
Blassingale worked out all summer long. For the majority of the summer, Blassingale lifted heavy weights at a lower amount of reps, but now Blassingale is lifting lighter weights at a higher amount of reps.
Blassingale and his teammate have also been preparing with the help of Cabrini’s coaches.
“The team works out with Dustin Calandra, the university’s head strength and conditioning coach, in the athlete-only gym four times a week,” Blassingale said. “He has us doing different workouts daily, but we are mainly just spending time working on mechanics and working on our core.”
As for Blassingale’s diet, he said that it consists of roughly three water bottles a day. He also tries to eat as much as possible so that he can maintain the weight that he wants to uphold.
Blassingale definitely seems as if he is going to be in shape for the upcoming season, as is his teammate, Mike Doyle.
Doyle is returning as a junior on the men’s basketball team. Doyle has also been doing his best to maintain a healthy diet and a steady workout regimen to prepare for this years basketball season.
To Doyle, there is no such thing as a preseason regimen because all year round is preseason.
My preseason never really starts or ends. After our season ends in March, I take two weeks off and then I start lifting and playing basketball again. So for me, I have been getting ready since March,” Doyle said.
Doyle follows the workout routine that Malandra gives to the rest of the basketball team. They lift together as a team three days a week and they condition once a week.
While he is focusing on building strength, his diet is the least of his worries right now.
He said, “My diet right now is pretty loose. I am at a spot where putting on weight is not the worst thing in the world. When the season begins, I will stop eating as much junk food and stop drinking as much soda so that I can get my body right.”
The fact that the men’s basketball team is already putting in this much work for their winter season is just an example of the hard work and dedication the men will be putting on the field.
Women’s basketball players Caroline Price and Cassidy Gallagher have also been working with Cabrini’s head strength and conditioning coach Dustin Calandra, following their own specific diets and keeping up with their own work out regimens.
Caroline Price, a senior who is now entering her fourth season playing Cabrini women’s basketball, has been very busy over the past couple of months, working on getting ready for her final season playing basketball.
Price said, “Every season, the women’s basketball team begins their workouts during the second week of school. This means that we are working out together in the strength and conditioning room with Malandra for about six weeks prior to the first practice.”
On her own time, Price enjoys lifting weights and doing cardio. She does not necessarily love running, but she likes how it pushes her endurance. Price does love to lift weights though, more with her legs than with her arms, because she says that her legs are definitely stronger.
When it comes to what she eats, Price said, “My diet is usually relatively on point and healthy. Lately, I have been slacking, but I try to incorporate protein and veggies into every meal. I love chicken and fish, which are normally what I have for dinner. I also love carbs, especially pasta. My family is Italian so we eat that a lot too. I don’t usually snack either. I stick to three main meals a day.”
As for her diet when she is in season, Price typically eats the same foods. Practicing every day and lifting multiple times a week definitely takes a toll on her body, so when Price is in season, she is definitely eating more than she would be if she were not in season.
Caroline Price’s teammate, Cassidy Gallagher, is approaching her second year on as a player on Cabrini’s women’s basketball team. Gallagher has been working just as hard as her teammate Price and has spent the last couple of months making sure she stays in shape for basketball season.
There is never a time when Cassidy Gallagher is not working out. She does her best to stay in shape all of the time.
In fact, over the summer, Gallagher participated in a summer league. When she was not playing basketball, she was spending her spare time at the gym.
Gallagher said that the women’s basketball team started working out with Malandra during the second week of school and they will continue to do so throughout the season.
When asked about the specific regimens Gallagher and the rest of her team are following, she said, “Before we left school for the summer, our team was given a summer packet from Malandra. I tried my best to follow that packet throughout the summer and add additional workouts if needed.”
Along with constantly working out, Gallagher also tries to keep up with a healthy diet. She said that she does not follow a specific diet plan, but she enjoys most healthy foods, so she does not have a problem eating healthy.
Aside from both basketball teams, Cabrini also has men’s and women’s swimming during the winter. Katherine Buckman, a sophomore who is going into her second swimming season at Cabrini could not be anymore excited for the season.
Buckman started to prepare for the upcoming swim season throughout the summer. She tried to swim as much as she could all summer long. The swim team had their first official practice on Sept. 18, so now she is into more of a schedule.
When asked about the workout routine she and the rest of the swim team are expected to keep up with, Buckman said, “We have a lifting program that Malandra made specifically for the swim team that we have been doing for two weeks now. Other than that, we just go to our practices.”
Buckman admits to eating pretty unhealthily when she is not in season, but when she is in season, she tries to eat as healthy as she possibly can. Buckman also says she eats a lot more during swim season because of how much working out she is actually doing.
Staying in shape out-of-season can be difficult for Cabrini athletes, but when the teams make doing so a commitment together, it can be accomplished.
Cassidy Gallagher said, “Being around the team for preseason while we are lifting and playing pickup, and seeing each other get better is a key component for the actual season. It’s exciting for us to work hard now and see it pay off later on in the year.”
