TEMPE, Ariz. -- Charli Turner Thorne had a little present for her players before they departed on a five-day holiday break.
"We call it 'The gift that keeps us winning,'" the Sun Devils women's basketball coach said with a chuckle.
This particular gift came without wrapping paper and a bow. Instead, Turner Thorne's staff provided each player with a workout plan that included conditioning and skill-based drills to keep them prepared for the upcoming schedule.
It's a common practice.
While all of Arizona State's winter sports coaches emphasized the importance of their players spending time with loved ones over the holidays, there is a practical reality they face: The season picks up quickly after the break so they can't afford to let their players fall out of shape.
"It's a very delicate balance," said wrestling coach Zeke Jones, whose team will take part in the prestigious Midlands Championships in Evanston, Illinois from Dec. 29-30. "There's a very good reason why we have holidays. It's a time to get back to your family and enjoy those special times, but your athletic window is so short. You'll never have this opportunity as an athlete again so you don't want to get swallowed up in holiday activities and then have it show up in competition."
Maintaining a specific weight is a critical component of wrestling so Jones faces a greater challenge with his team off from Dec. 20-26.
"It's not unusual for them to gain 10 pounds and then have to lose nine to 10 in workouts or practice," said Jones, who has already set his athletes text message reminders of what lies ahead. "For them to go home and get heavy can happen. That's where that discipline is so important."
Football coach Todd Graham is facing a different sort of challenge with his players' five-day break.
"I've never done it before," Graham said after the Devils' final pre-Christmas practice on Monday. "We just have to make sure they don't sit around and eat turkey."
When asked how he would manage that concern, Graham admitted it is more difficult than it sounds.
"I don't know," he said with a smile. "I can't manage it because I know what I'm going to do. I'm going to put on about 10 pounds in about a week."
Despite the conditioning and dietary concerns, hockey coach Greg Powers said the break will benefit his players well beyond the chance to spend time with family and friends.
"Our guys need it and deserve it," he said. "We've flown over 30,000 air miles this semester alone for road games so I'm not going to deny them this time off with their families.
"If we rode them hard and made them stay on campus I think we'd get less out of them than if they're allowed to recharge their batteries. By giving them five or six days off, mentally and physically, they'll be able to recover."
Recovery time isn't exclusive to players. For most of the coaches, the job is year-round when you factor in recruiting, offseason development, occasional coaching clinics and community appearances.
Swimming coach Bob Bowman gave his team a long break from Dec. 19-28 during which he encouraged them to go back and work out with the teams that trained them at the high school or club level. Like most of his fellow coaches, however, Bowman's "break" is considerably shorter.
He conducted a coach's clinic on Dec. 19 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and then flew to Baltimore where he ran practices at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club as he prepares to coach the men's U.S. 2016 Olympic Team in Rio de Janeiro.
"It's a pretty big challenge but in normal years it won't be as much," said Bowman, who is currently at his parents' home in South Carolina for Christmas before returning to Tempe on Monday. "I understand that and the team understands that with the Olympics and building a program at ASU, the plate is a little fuller than usual."
Jones said that when his team reports back for their first practice on Dec. 26 in Chicago, he'll know immediately if some of his wrestlers slacked off, but none of the coaches believe this break is long enough to create any major concerns, particularly since there is practice time before the competition begins again.
As an example, the Sun Devil football team won't face West Virginia in the Cactus Bowl until Jan. 2 at Chase Field. That gives Graham five additional practices to work off the turkey.
"We talk about family all the time and how important that is so giving our kids an opportunity to fly home and fly them all back because we're playing here is really a luxury you'd only have by playing in your hometown," Graham said. "We want them to be able to go home and see the people that they love and care about; people that sacrificed to put them here.
"We're glad they're getting to do that."