"A lot of our strength and conditioning comesfrom pure wrestling," he says. "Lifting up otherwrestlers and doing a lot of squats in practicecan be just as, if not more, important thanconventional conditioning techniques like liftingweights."
Most athletes who have never used creatinefollow the same offseason strength andconditioning programs as those who use thesupplement, but they also placed a lot ofimportance in playing their respective sportsduring the offseason to improve their level ofcompetition. For example, Keck says he wassatisfied with his offseason workouts after heusing creatine, but he was not happy that he spentmost of the summer in the dugout behind anall-star catcher in the Cape Cod summer league.
Keck also says practicing is a major part ofhis strength and conditioning program.
"As a catcher, I work on squatting,long-distance running and lifting weights toimprove my foot-speed and quickness for lateralmovement to block balls in the dirt," he says."But the best way to get better at throwing outbaserunners is to just practice long tosses towork on arm strength."
Sophomore Chris Lewis, a 6'7", 215-poundforward on he basketball team who has never usedcreatine, says he played in the Washington, D.C.,college league over the summer in addition togaining 15 to 20 pounds by lifting weights.
"I think strength and conditioning is veryimportant for college basketball," Lewis says. "Iknow a lot of guys come in as freshman not fullydeveloped physically and they are playing againstguys that can be four or five years older thanthem, so they need a good strength andconditioning program to help them adjust to thecollege level."
Senior Tim Hill, a 5'11", 160-pound guard onthe basketball team, agrees that strength andconditioning is important for basketball playersbecause of the duration of the season, but hasnever used creatine.
"It is more important to just stay consistentwith a regimented program," he says. "As abasketball player, and especially as a pointguard, I am not trying to really build up mymuscle mass or get bulkier, I just want to improvemy overall strength and get my muscles moredefined."
Sophomore Steve Moore, a 6'2", 190-poundforward on the hockey team, says he has never usedcreatine but he improved his maximum bench pressfrom 205 pounds last year to 255 pounds this yearby following the team's offseason workout program.He also said it was very important that he took100 shots on goal every day during the summer toimprove his accuracy and become a better scorer.
"On the ice everything comes down to splitseconds and inches, so every little bit ofstrength helps because that may be the differencebetween getting to the puck and making a pass orshot and not getting there in time," Moore says."I have never used any supplements because I don'tthink I need them if I eat the right amount ofproteins and carbohydrates. But I can't argue withpeople who want to use creatine--I just choose notto."
"I have always relied on regular lifting andrunning," Lewis says. "Everybody's goal is to bephysically stronger than their opponent, and someguys feel that, by taking performance enhancers,they can have an edge. I can see the reasoningbehind using them."