Morning conditioning continues

By Sam Waller

Participation remained strong as Albany Junior/Senior High’s summer conditioning program for prospective athletes entered its second week despite numerous other activities demanding time.

The program is open to all incoming seventh through 12th graders who plan to participate in interscholastic sports.

“It’s a busy time of year with vacations, Fandangle, and all that, but we’ve still got good numbers showing up in the mornings,” head football coach Denney Faith said. “We had our first skill session Monday night and had about 25. That was a good number, too.”

Boys sessions will continue Monday through Thursday each week through July 20. Workouts are from 7:00 to 8:30 a.m. each day and include weight lifting, agility drills, and conditioning. Skill workouts are held at 5:00 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays.

About a dozen athletes missed the final two sessions this week because of their participation in the 7-on-7 State Tournament at College Station.

“Those guys will miss the rest of the week, but they’ll still get plenty of work in down there,” Faith said.

Girls sessions, overseen by volleyball coach M.J. Reneau, are 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. each day with sport-specific instruction held 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. on Mondays for high school athletes and Tuesdays for junior high.

“It’s a busy time,” Reneau said. “There’s Fandangle and camp, but we’ve still got really good numbers.”

The girls program will run five weeks with a two-week break the first half of July, resuming Monday, July 17 and concluding Thursday, July 27.

Summer workouts are subject to UIL regulations.

Preseason practice for high school football and volleyball will begin Monday, July 31. Junior high sports cannot hold practice until school starts.