High school athletes return for team workouts with coronavirus guidelines in place
By FRED KRONER
Area high schools are in the process of preparing their athletes to return to competition.
The IHSA permitted limited participation last week, allowing districts to conduct conditioning, agility and strength training exercises in small groups.
Oakwood chose to wait until this week in order to get its plan in place.
“We are taking a cautious approach for right now,” Oakwood football coach Al Craig said. “We are making sure all the ducks are in a row before we start.
“We have been meeting with the athletes once a week on Zoom and going over things we would have normally gone over. It has gone well.”
Craig fears the repercussions of doing too much too soon.
“I am just concerned with health and safety,” he said. “I don’t ever want our student-athletes or coaches in danger.
“I’m also worried that too much at the beginning gets everything closed down again, then we lose August. We don’t want that. Nobody wants that.”
St. Joseph-Ogden and Villa Grove/Heritage began the process of restarting workouts last week.
Throughout the area, slow steps are the norm.
“Right now, they are student-athletes who we haven’t seen for multiple weeks,” SJ-O football coach Shawn Skinner said. “We are working on getting them in shape.
“Their core, legs and lungs are what we want to ensure are getting ready as we progress at this time.”
SJ-O athletes are at the school in shifts, taking advantage of the weight room.
“We have eight groups and those groups have six to eight kids,” Skinner said. “We have some groups going at 7 a.m., another set at 11 a.m. and another round at 5 p.m.
“Prior to working out, we have to check the kids in with a series of questions and we record their temperatures. We will do that every time we work out, at least during this stage of our return-to-play plan.
“We have essentially created small weight rooms outside on and around our track and sports fields. The workouts incorporate speed improvement, flexibility, strength and conditioning.”
The workout takes about an hour and the athletes remain with the same group every day. Sixty-five Spartan football prospects, from freshmen through seniors, worked out last week.
Skinner said his program is not far behind where he originally expected to be by mid-June.
“Our summer plan was to always be in the weight room three days a week, so from that standpoint we are moving forward with that plan,” Skinner said. “We have lost only about two weeks of summer workouts, so we are trying to stay positive from that standpoint.”
He said the school’s staff is doing everything possible to not put anyone at risk.
“Obviously we want everyone to be as safe and healthy as can be,” Skinner said, “so we’re being cognizant of spacing and what we touch; wiping down and cleaning equipment after every athlete uses that.
“For the athletes, we want to avoid over-taxing them early. Some of them have been working out at home, but several of them have not. It’s not a race to get back in shape in one week.
“This will be a process and we have to ensure we avoid injuries, especially soft tissue injuries, as that could linger all season.”
Unless athletes were working out on their own, most had been away from regimented practices for more than 80 days. Skinner didn’t know what level of conditioning and fitness to expect from his returnees.
“I was really concerned with what shape we would be in,” he said. “Honestly, it’s better than I thought. It’s not good, but it’s not bad either.”
Villa Grove/Heritage football coach Heath Wilson has about 50 potential football players working out.
“At this point, I am just excited,” Wilson said. “Excited to get to start working with the players and coaches.
“A lot of our players are out of shape due to the stay-at-home order, so it’s time to do the work and get ready for the season.”
The staff at VG/Heritage is adhering to recommendations.
“First and foremost, we are making sure we understand and implement the guidelines appropriately,” Wilson said. “The safety of these athletes is very important. We have worked quickly to survey our players, break them into groups and get them in the weight room.
“With seven coaches, we are able to divide and conquer. We have six groups that are working out three days a week. During this phase, we are focused on lifting and conditioning.”
The emphasis is not the same for coaches in cross-country and soccer as it is in football.
“The great thing about our sport, although it’s better to be together, it can be done solo,” SJ-O cross-country coach Jason Retz said. “Every athlete has the same ability to improve.
“We are simply going to control what we can control and enjoy each day as it comes.”
Retz expects a turnout between 40 and 50, including both the boys’ and girls’ programs.
“We meet once a week and have four groups right now,” Retz said. “They already have their own schedules they are working off, so we get together and they get it done.”
Bill DeJarnette is returning to the SJ-O soccer program he helped to implement. He has about 15 potential players thus far and they are divided into two groups.
“We plan to continue to add (groups) as we expand our recruitment,” DeJarnette said. “The workouts will vary within cycles.
“Cycle examples are Plyo, Long Slow, Intervals, fast twitch, strength and visualization, with constant evaluation of strengths and weaknesses so we can tune the workouts to address issues as needed.”
Conditioning is generally not an activity that teen-agers look forward to. This month could be an exception.
“We are excited to be back together, even if only for conditioning,” Villa Grove coach Jeanine Block said. “The girls are excited to see one another and are anxious for the next phase.”
Oakwood volleyball coach Lynn Anderson said the starting point is to make clear that the guidelines in place must be followed.
“My main concern is getting the players to understand we have regulations we have to follow,” Anderson said. “That is foreign to them, in a sense, especially with the sport.”
Block said she tries to keep things fresh and not repeat the same routine.
“Kids get bored without sport-specific activities,” Block said. “We are doing our best to make the workouts ‘competitive,’ but these girls are anxious to play volleyball.”
The unexpected break, which was mandated by the COVID-19 pandemic, took away from the ongoing changes around the SJ-O facilities.
“Prior to the virus shutting everything down, we were having a very good offseason,” Skinner said. “We had really built up some momentum in our weight room.
“Casey Hug, our athletic trainer, has assisted us in changing our strength and conditioning program and you could really see the kids’ bodies starting to change.”
A booster support group was helping to implement other additions and improvements,
“Our SJO Fan Club had purchased new equipment and Mr. Hug had updated our weight room,” Skinner said. “If we had returned from Spring Break, it would have been an entirely new facility for our kids.
“I can’t wait to get to use it in the manner we really want to soon. We hope that happens in early July as we enter the next stage in the return-to-play.”
The coaches have mixed feelings about what is in store in the weeks and months ahead.
“We will plan and work with the assumption that the fall season is a go,” DeJarnette said. “Even if not, there are no downsides to working together as a team every opportunity you get.”
Added Retz: “The opportunity to help student-athletes grow will continue to happen regardless of what the season looks like.
“Our goal is to help make better people. That will happen regardless if we get to race against other schools or not.”
Craig sees many issues that need to be resolved before games can again take place. He isn’t convinced that everything can fall into place.
“I would love to say I’m really confident, but I’m not,” Craig said. “I would say I’m somewhere between pessimist and optimist.
“I just need to see the logistics of games and locker room usage before I can become really confident.”
Block said now is the time to plan for the possibilities of what a new-normal may look like.
“I can see us playing, with precautions and possibly no fans,” she said. “We are looking at options to live stream games in case the parents/fans are not allowed to attend games.”
Anderson, too, wonders what athletic competition will look like once the games resume.
“My concern is whether we can just relax and play eventually,” Anderson said. “If we have to wear masks, wipe down balls, not touch each other, etc.
“Where is the consistency of just playing, when we have to worry with everything else? Hopefully, it won’t come to that. How confident about whether we have a season or not depends on the day and who I listen to.”
Skinner said this is a time of many questions, but few answers.
“Obviously, the threat of the virus is going to remain and it’s not going to change anytime soon,” he said. “What do we do if one of our players or coaches gets it? What will that look like? Also, how do we advance the workouts in the best/safest way; safe from a physical and spacial standpoint, but also an emotional and mental standpoint?
“These are real concerns that we need to be aware of and observe. We have a tendency as Midwesterners to have a blue color, tough-it-out, mentality. I think that we need to really reflect on that.
“If you’re feeling sick, if you have a sore throat, cough, etc., then maybe stay home a day or two. That goes against our mentality, but maybe we need to take a step back and realize it’s OK to miss a day of work, school, practice, if that means in the long run you’re healthier for it.”
He realizes that is easier said than done.
“That would require a huge change in our perception, and I am probably as guilty of this attitude as anyone,” Skinner said. “But it may be time to acknowledge we can take better care of ourselves and in the process take better care of those around us.”
Like others, Skinner knows it’s merely speculation as to whether there will be a season and – if so – when it would start and how it will look different from previous years.
“What we know is that at this time there is a strong desire and intention for there to be a return to school in August and with that a fall-sport season,” he said. “I’m working with that in mind.
“That’s all I can do at this point. If/when that changes, we will adjust.”
Retz said in one respect this year will be like all others: There will be a need to deal with the unexpected.
“Each year brings different challenges and it will be fun to take these on one day at a time,” Retz said. “Distance running takes time.
“We’ll deal with any bump in the road there may be, but those bumps only help us learn and grow.”
The key word, Wilson said, is optimism.
“I have to stay positive and say there will be a season,” Wilson said. “I can’t imagine a fall without football.”
If the green light is given for competition, Anderson knows one fact for certain.
“We will be ready to play,” she said. “All athletes just want to get started, which might be a positive out of this whole deal.
“They will not take for granted anymore that things just always happen how they want it to. They know their lives can change that quickly now.”
