While some might think summer is a time of rest for ISU athletes, most athletes would say they are mistaken.

Despite the fact that it is the off-season, student-athletes routinely work just as hard in the summer as they do during their respective seasons.

The football team is just one example.

The team works out four days a week, taking Wednesdays and weekends off.

They get on the field and do speed drills and then go to the weight room on Mondays and Thursdays.

Strength and conditioning coach Matt McGettigan refers to these as “Power days.”

Tuesday and Friday are for lifting and conditioning, with agility drills to end the day.

Although the workouts can’t be made mandatory, the coaching staff is able to have a hand in controlling the schedule.

“We aren’t allowed to make anything mandatory, but the players understand what we want to do,” McGettigan said.

McGettigan said the summer is the best time for the team to develop unity and leadership, which are key elements in becoming a successful program.

“We had a good turnout for workouts last summer, and look how well the team did,” he said.

“When you win, it brings the group even closer together, and makes the guys want to work harder.”

Besides their four-days-a-week training, McGettigan says the players get together and do other work without the coaches help.

“They get together a couple evenings during the week and do seven-on-seven, offense against defense,” he said.

Come August, the football team should be hoping all the off-season work pays off. They’ll start official practice August 14th.

The first football game is Saturday, Sept. 8 when the Cyclones host the University of Northern Iowa.

As far as off-season training goes, the football team isn’t the only team at Iowa State that counts on the summer months for preparation.

Ruth Crowe, the head coach of the ISU softball team said that the summer is the perfect time to test an athlete’s commitment.

“We have a fall season, so we expect our players to come back in shape,” she said.

“We give them about a month off to rest their bodies, but then they are expected to begin getting in shape.”

Crowe said she wants her athletes to do anything to stay active and healthy during the off-season.

She said this could include running, rollerblading and biking.

However, she says not everyone stays in shape during the summer.

“When we start practicing, it is easy to tell who has and has not been working out in the off-season. It comes down to who is committed and who is not.”

Lou Ball, administrative assistant for the women’s gymnastics team agrees with McGettigan and Crowe. She said it’s important that athletes taken advantage of opportunities in the summertime.

“Since we aren’t able to require workouts in the summer, it’s up to the athletes to maintain their own workout schedules,” he said.

“We give them a training schedule that we’d like them to stick to when they leave for the summer. Some stay here and work with the coaches, and some go home and train at their home gymnastic club.”

Ball also said it is easy to tell who has been working hard preparing for their season.

“The ones who worked the hardest during the summer almost always come back and perform better than the ones who didn’t work as hard.”

Ball summed up the feelings of all three coaches about the commitment of their athletes during the summertime.

“They are going to get out of the summer whatever they put in,” he said.