Liam Podmore (Worcester, Mass.) lifts three times per week at 6 a.m. On Fridays, he trades the weights for running sneakers and hits the turf for sprint work.
The Endicott men’s lacrosse team practices at night in the fall. Meetings, film and practice plans precede each session.
Over at Holy Cross, Teddy McKeigue (Needham, Mass.) is in the midst of a 20-hour week, which includes three lifts and four practices. This Saturday, the team is traveling to Vermont for a scrimmage.
The college season has not yet officially started. Yet Division 1 and Division 3 programs are hard at work.
NCAA regulations limit just how much work can be done at each level. Division 3 rules allow for 24 days of activity in the offseason and no more than four days each week.
Division 1, meanwhile, caps offseason training at eight hours per week but also includes a period when teams can operate in 20-hour weeks that mimic the regular season.
“It’s a full-time job, for sure,” McKeigue said.
But just how different are the workloads between Division 1 and Division 3? Podmore said the Division 3 commitment is more than people realize.
