Summer vacation may be a break from the normal everyday routine for most, but for Loyola athletes, summer is nothing but more time to further the progress towards goals they have been working towards during the school year.

English sophomore Annelese Rickert, business management sophomore Marc Luttecke and marketing sophomore Lucas Wendt are only some of the athletes planning to work hard for the summer months.

Rickert, a distance runner for the cross country and track team at Loyola, knows the importance of keeping in good shape this summer and the expectations she will have set for herself for next year.

“I guess I’m pretty self-motivated and I enjoy running a lot; for me, it’s always fun,” she said.

Due to the hot Texas summers, Rickert has come up with a strategic plan to help keep in shape. She plans on alternating running routines, sometimes in the middle of the day when it is the hottest, because it causes exhaustion, which helps to build up her endurance.

Rickert also participates in hot yoga, which is a number of yoga poses done in a heated room usually set between 95-100 degrees. The yoga keeps her muscles limber and helps to prevent injuries.

Luettecke, a 6 foot 9 inch Loyola men’s basketball player, will be traveling back home to Germany this summer, where he will continue to work on his sport.

Luettecke plans to take the first couple of weeks off of basketball and enjoy being back in his hometown of Hamm, Germany. That will help him to be more motivated when he starts practicing again. He then plans to start playing as often as possible with local teams around Germany. He intends to build strength and achieve good physical condition this summer by running and lifting weights as often as possible.

Luettecke said that he depends on this summer in Germany to become a better overall athlete. However, to help make him a smarter player, he depends on the coaches at Loyola.

Loyola third basemen Wendt plans on joining a summer baseball league while home in Georgia. Wendt has been taking part in summer baseball for most of his life. The last two years, however, have been different now that he doesn’t travel and he plays in leagues that only allow college players.

“I feel that playing summer baseball is important because it’s good to continue playing year round instead of just during the season,” he said.

To stay in shape, Wendt plans on also running and lifting weights. He also plans to work on his hitting and fielding this summer.

“This summer my plans are to work on getting faster and stronger so that I can do my part to help the team succeed and achieve our goal for next season,” he said.

Michelle Gingras can be reached at [email protected]