Stopped by coronavirus: How Stanislaus District athletes prepare for possible restart
The possible return date of the 2020 high school spring sports season is unknown due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Even with the chance of the season being canceled (CIF meets next Friday to decide), Stanislaus District athletes are remaining in shape and working out.
Ripon Christian senior infielder and pitcher Nolan Lingley runs two or three miles every day around his hometown of Tracy. The Pepperdine commit has a routine for each mile.
“After each mile, I stop and do push-ups and squats,” Lingley said. “On the last mile, I’ve been stopping at each city bench along the way and I do 10 pushups at each one and then keep running until I make it all the way back to my house.”
Lingley said he has a flexibility program he works on at home and spends time at his hitting coach’s property which has two fields and a batting cage where he works on his swing.
“I am just doing what I can to stay ready if the season comes back, and if not, then preparing for my freshman year at Pepperdine,” Lingley said.
Hughson athlete uses group chats to organize
Hughson junior baseball player and starting quarterback Aiden Meyer said he is in a group chat with teammates and they make plans to meet up at a local park where they workout and go on team runs.
“We bring our own weights from home and we used a bench and a decline bench and did bench dips and pullups,” Meyer said.
Johansen swim coach Brent Bohlander said since all the area pools are closed, he has sent dry-land workouts to his team.
“It’s pretty much all we can do,” Bohlander said. “Will the schools re-open the pools or will the cities?”
Bohlander also coaches club swim and water polo and said coaches in Clovis and Fresno are having the same issue.
Ceres softball coach Mike Corsaut said his team has a group chat where they get their workouts but Corsaut said his team has a routine and they know what to do.
“We always threw bullpens everyday during school and the pitchers are still throwing to their catchers or their parents,” Corsaut said. “Most of them have their own cages and they are getting in 40, 50, or 100 swings a day.”
Turlock coach ties to involve parents
Turlock track and field coach Bergann Hernandez also sends her team workouts, including some where parents can get involved.
“It starts to be fun to try and make the regular workouts work with what you’ve got,” Hernandez said.
One video on the team’s twitter page has an athlete “racing” her dog in a hurdles race.
However, with tracks closed, field event athletes have difficulty training but Hernandez told her team to be creative with their workouts.
“Pole vaulters do handstands or find something to hang from (a tree, the rafters, the old swing set in the back yard),” Hernandez said. “Throwers have lots of drills and footwork to do ... Same with jumpers.”
Gregori junior distance runner Madison Kackley, a CIF State qualifier in the 1,600 and 3,200 meter races last year, said despite not having a track to train on, she has received her workouts from coach Morgan Gallegos and they are the same as they would be under normal circumstances.
“I’ve been doing intervals such as mile repeats, 800s, 400s, and 200s and doing recovery and distance runs as well,” Kackley said. “My distance runs and recovery runs are no different because I’ve just been doing routes near my house. However, for intervals, I’ve had to get creative by either turning them into a fartlek run or just tracking the distances I need on my normal routes.”
Social distancing at Modesto baseball facility
Brad Miller owns a baseball facility in downtown Modesto and has had local athletes come in to get their workouts such as live batting practice.
With a group of players in the facility, Miller said they are disinfecting daily and social distancing during their workouts.
Even though the sport is in the offseason, Hilmar junior football player Trace Van Guilder has taken the leadership role and made sure his teammates are remaining in shape.
“Our coaches are in charge of the workouts but I’m just stepping up and trying to lead our team to become bigger, stronger, and faster.”
Van Guilder created his own workout that includes jumping jacks, side planks, broad jumps, crunches, and other exercises.
The message from various athletes and coaches was hope during this uncertain time.
“We are hoping to get to finish a little bit of the season,” Hernandez said. “But we also are realizing that the reality of the season is getting smaller so then we just have to focus on not losing a year of development physically and keep getting ready for whatever comes next.”
