It's summer. Time to relax, sit by the pool, sip on iced tea and enjoy the warm summer sun.

Right?

Well, not so fast.

If you are a high school athlete, summer is less about passing time and more about the passing game. It's less about taking five and more about taking 3s.

These days, summer means lifting weights and attending camps and open gyms to hone skills.

Summer means work — and a lot of it.

"The weight room," says Slippery Rock High football coach Clyde Conti, "has no offseason."

And neither do athletes in sports from football to softball, from basketball to lacrosse.

Athletes are discovering that success during the school year hinges on what is done in the "offseason."

Hectic times

There are times this summer when Slippery Rock senior Derrick Orloski isn't sure whether he is coming or going.

He's mostly going.

"Well, sometimes it gets pretty hard," Orloski said. "At the end of the day, I'm pretty tired."

His day begins when the alarm blares at 7:30 a.m.

By 9, Orloski is in the Slippery Rock weight room, then on the field running through plays in preparation for football season.

After a brief lunch, Orloski goes to basketball open gym from 1 to 4 p.m., working on his shot and conditioning.

Until recently the evening was reserved for American Legion baseball with the Prospect team.

The day ends with Orloski falling into bed at 10:30 p.m.

Orloski, who also works part-time for a landscaper between sports, said there is a reason for his madness.

"I can definitely tell that the summer work helps," Orloski said. "Last year, when teams were wearing down by January, we were fresher."

Conti tries to juggle workouts with his players' other activities. He's aware that summer also means family vacations, work schedules, other sports and simple much-needed down time.

"You have to be cognizant of that," Conti said. "I think it's important to work your schedule around the kids."

Orloski hates to miss a workout, an open gym — anything that could make him better during the summer.

He also enjoys the camaraderie with his teammates as they sweat together during the summer months.

"The summer workouts are what really brings the teams together," Orloski said.

But not all players get their summer work done under the structure of the high school.

Mars senior Brittany Berkopec sees the summer as her "real" season.

Berkopec plays for as many as three softball teams during the summer. Her main obligation is to the Pittsburgh Spirit.

"It's probably the most valuable softball I get to play," Berkopec said. "There are literally hundreds of college coaches coming in to watch us play at this big showcases. It's a way to get noticed.

"School ball is just a warmup for summer ball. I have a lot of fun playing for the high school team, but the intensity really bumps up during the summer."

Times have changed

Conti remembers a time when the summer truly was a no-work zone.

In 1973, Conti's first year as head football coach at Clarion-Limestone HighSchool, coaches were forbidden to have any contact with their players during the offseason.

But coaches understood the importance of improving skills in the offseason, so they bent the rules.

"I probably shouldn't say this, but we did it anyway," Conti said. "We were pretty shrewd. We had a manager stand on a spot 100 yards away as a lookout."

Over time, there was no need for clandestine operations. Rules changed and became more relaxed. Now, coaches can hold open gyms, welcome players into the weight room for organized workouts and quarterbacks can attend passing camps until their arms fall off.

Conti uses the summer to put in the framework for his offense and defense.

"Summer is the time to implement most of what you are going to do," Conti said. "It's the time for your kids to understand the Xs and the Os."

Butler boys basketball coach Joe Lewandowski is no stranger to summer restrictions.

When he was a prep star growing up inCleveland, coaches were permitted only 10 days of contact time with their team.

That's not nearly enough, Lewandowski said.

Instead, Lewandowski went from park to park, playing pick-up games and working on his skills himself.

"We played every single day," Lewandowski said. "But we didn't have structure. I wished I had structure. I wish I had a coach who was knowledgeable helping me."

Now, as a coach in Pennsylvania, Lewandowski has no such concerns.

His Butler team plays between 35 and 40 games during the summer. Depending on the personality of the team, they either travel to tournaments in places such as New York, New Jersey and West Virginia, or simply stay at home.

Either way, it's the work that is important.

"I always tell the players, 'This is always up to you how much you want to play,'" Lewandowski said. "I leave it up to them whether or not they want to play in a bunch of tournaments or staying in the gym and play against some of our returning college guys."

Knoch boys basketball coach Chris Andreassi entered his team into the Slippery Rock summer league this year. The league, which featured 24 teams, was one of the strongest in the region.

Last year, 14 of the 18 teams that played in the league made the playoffs during its regular season.

"You need to go where you are going to get challenged," Andreassi said. "You need to work in the summer. It's a necessity. The other teams in our section are doing it. You can bet on that."