Champions are made in the off-season.

Despite wrapping up fall competition nearly a month ago, the Penn State men's tennis team is still preparing for the spring semester as it looks to take the next step to competing at a championship level.

"We are giving a lot of specific instruction and improving a lot of technique and little things with the guy's games," head coach Todd Doebler said.

"Also, we are spending a lot of time conditioning and lifting and making them stronger."

During the fall and spring seasons, the NCAA allows teams to practice for 20 hours a week. Coaches are free to use this time however they chose to use it.

Between the end of the fall season and before the fall semester concludes, the number of hours allowed for practice shrinks to eight hours a week. Coaches are limited to two hours of on-court practicing, with the other six hours used for running, lifting and coach-player meetings. Players are not required to attend any of the team functions during this time.

Doebler gave the team a week off after the Big Ten Singles Championships in early November. Since then, the players have been working on aspects of their games that need the most improvement.

"Everyone's working really hard, so I'm sure they are improving," Doebler said. "It is just tough to see without having matches and competition to really gauge where they are at."

The team meets on the court about twice a week for its two allotted hours of practice. The team also has three one-hour running sessions in the early morning and two lifts on the days in between runs.

"The off-season tends to be more conditioning based. We do more conditioning and more individual work.," senior captain Ryan Berger. "We spend more time on our individual game and little things we can work on.

"During the normal season, because we are so match-prone, we don't have time to break down the game as much. In the off-season we work on figuring out the problems and really diving into those."

The off-season allows for Doebler to focus on the weaknesses of each player. He talks with them on how to improve in each of these areas.

At practices, which move at a brisk pace, players get the chance to work on specific drills that focus on their problem areas. Doebler groups Berger, Brendan Lynch and Michael James with assistant coach Dan Holman to work on specific shots. Holman hits balls across the net in certain areas so that the players must use a specific return shot.

Other players use the additional courts to go one-on-one against fellow teammates.

"We love to really get competitive. The more competitive it is for us the more fun we have. And the more fun we have the faster the time goes," Berger said. "If it's a quiet atmosphere, then we kind of get lulled into being asleep, so we want to be pumped up like a real match."

With term papers and tests near the end of the semester, Doebler tries to be flexible with the schedule, allowing his players to focus on schoolwork while continuing to practice.

"Obviously academics come first, and the guys do a good job of being able to manage everything and balance everything," Doebler said. "The majority of [the players on] our team are very good students and strong in the classroom."