Any young South Whidbey High School athletes thinking the first day of practice would be a snap were quickly disabused of that notion.

By 9 a.m. Monday, Falcon soccer, tennis, cross country and volleyball coaches had their respective boys and girls hard at work.

At the elementary school soccer fields, coach Paul Arand watched as 25 girls hoping for a varsity spot began a 300-yard run that tested their speed and endurance.

In pairs, the players ran out 10 yards, then 20, then 30 and so on, then back to the start, where they were allowed to rest.

For two minutes. Then they did it again.

The girls posted times of 65 to 70 seconds the first try, then over 80 seconds the next.

“It measures their ability to recover in a short period of time,” Arand explained. “Every player has to be technically sound, and each must raise themselves to the highest standard.”

Arand put the girls through a battery of tasks — running, jumping, kicking and shooting — that are collectively called interval training, designed to quickly put them into prime physical shape.

Senior Laura Barrow felt the pain.

“This is definitely a serious workout after a nice summer off,” she said, recovering after her run.

Down the street at the high school courts, the boys tennis team limbered up.

“The first day is all about stroke awareness,” said coach Tom Kramer. “There’re a lot of sloppy habits that need to be worked on, like feet placement, speed and hitting the ball where it needs to go. Getting a great single shot out of 10 isn’t going to cut it — they have to do it 10 out of 10.”

This is sophomore Zach Comfort’s second year on the team.

“The coach said I need to move my feet better so I’m in the right spot to receive the ball, and how important it is to hold my racquet the right way,” he said.

Inside the mat room, coach Doug Fulton was getting the 13 girls and nine boys on this year’s cross country team up to speed on the week’s schedule, but only after they’d run a grueling 3.1-mile warm-up on the Community Park trails behind the school.

“I use the first day to shake things out and see where we are, as well as provide an intro for the incoming freshmen,” Fulton said. “Most are in pretty good shape; they’ve been running on their own during the summer.”

Starting on Sunday, the team begins a four-day cross country camp at Camp Casey in Coupeville. After some easy morning runs, the team will listen to lectures on nutrition, running form, building core strength and general fitness before going for a swim.

The trip is capped with a 10-mile run along the bluffs to Ebey’s Landing and back.

Inside Erickson Gym, volleyball coach Mandy Jones was busy organizing a series of fast drills.

“What we’re looking for today is hustle, hard work, good technique and communication,” she said.

“Come on, guys, I want to hear you talking to your teammates; let them know you’re free or just support them whenever they do good,” she told them.

The girls worked on passing and setting. Tuesday, it was blocking and defense.

If it’s Wednesday, it must be endurance training.

“We push them as long as we can, to force them to go as far as they can,” Jones explained.

Freshmen Hannah Calderwood and Jennie Cerra were a touch nervous at day’s start.

“All four grades are trying out for the varsity team,” Calderwood said. “But it didn’t take long for us to settle into the drills.”

Both girls played as Cougars for Langley Middle School.

“But I learned some new moves today, like the jump serve, which makes it harder for the other team to defend against,” Cerra said.