Workouts continue for high school, junior high athletes

By Donnie A. Lucas

Strength and conditioning workouts will continue on Mondays through Thursdays through the end of July, with the exception of a couple of blackout periods in July.

Athletes entering grades 7-12 in August are continuing to meet for morning strength and conditioning sessions, with afternoon sport specific workouts available on various days according to the sport.

The number of students participating declined slightly over the last week, but the combined total reported this Monday was still over 50 students.

Boys report for workouts from 7:00 a.m. until 8:30 a.m. on Monday through Thursdays, while sessions for girls are held from 9:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m., also on Monday through Thursday mornings.

“We dropped a few this week, mostly due to kids going on vacation or participating in youth baseball,” athletic director Ryder Peacock said. “We still have good numbers, and we think it will pick up.”

The weekly sessions are slated to continue through July 30, except for some days off in July.

Normally, summer conditioning is limited to six weeks, but this year, due to the closing of school across the state because of the cornonavirus, the period continues through the week prior to two-a-day workouts that start Aug. 3.

On the girls side, coach M.J. Reneau reported 21 local girls participating on Monday this week, down a few from the first week.

“We are still having good turnouts for the morning sessions,” she said. “There is a good core group coming on a regular basis.”

The off days are July 6-9 and July 20-23 for the girls, while the boys will only be off on July 7-8 and July 20-21.

UIL has designated those dates as “periods of no activity.”

In addition to conditioning, athletes are allowed to engage in a limited amount of sport-specific training.

The boys are practicing individual skills specific to football on Monday and Wednesday afternoons at 5:30 p.m. until 6:30 p.m.

The girls also have an hour practice on Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. for basketball skills, as well as on Thursdays for volleyball at the same times.

Students are kept in small groups in order to comply with stipulations set by UIL.

“We are having to follow the protocol and wipe down all the equipment before and after it is used,” Peacock said. 

Because of the number of boys showing up for conditioning, three groups were established, while the girls are working in two groups.

Students who plan to participate in athletics are encouraged to attend as much as possible to prepare for the return to school in August.