Athletes aim to get bigger, faster and stronger

Dozens of Comanche high school and middlse school athletes were busy lifting, pushing, pulling and running as part of the school’s athletic department’s Summer Pride program on Tuesday morning.

While school is out until August for many students, athletes are showing up to improve their performances as coaches are stressing the importance of off-season workouts being necessary  to success on the field. 

“We have athletes who are just as good as other schools, we just need to change our mindset,” said Comanche coach Fabian Reyes.

And that starts with work in the offseason. So far, many athletes have been taking advantage of the training that started earlier this month. 

Even with several athletes out due to church camp, there were approximately 30 male athletes and a dozen or more female athletes. 

Last week, there were more than 50 total athletes in the  morning session. There are two daily sessions from Monday through Thursday with one session in the morning beginning at 8 a.m. and another in the evening at 6 p.m. to accomdate those who might work or may have to wait for parents to get home from work. The morning session is the most well attended. 

And it’s not just for fall sports participants but athletes in any sport regardless of the season, can participate.

“It’s exciting to come into the weight room and see people at every rack and every spot,” Reyes said. 

Athletes are divided by sexes with one group lifting weights inside and the other group running and doing agility drills outside. They then will switch places about halfway through the workout.

Right now, the majority of partiicipants are in junior high, especially for the girls.

“It bodes well for the future with all these junior high kids,” Reyes said. 

Reyes said with the high school athletes it’s a matter of making it a habit to show up. 

While their work may not be seen now, athletes are hoping the results will be seen and pay off later when their sports seasons start.