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Snyder High School junior Kyler Teakell finished a sprint during morning workouts at Tiger Stadium Tuesday. Snyder athletes returned to summer workouts on Monday. -
senior Jordan Savage (left) and junior Jaden West raced down the field.
Snyder High School athletes returned for summer workouts this week after being on hiatus and the coaching staff is hoping the momentum from the first half of the summer will carry over.
Lady Tiger athletes resumed workouts for the first time in three weeks after being shut down due to a possible COVID-19 exposure and the boys returned after a planned week-long break.
Snyder athletic director Wes Wood said the program has averaged around 100 athletes a day for morning workouts, exceeding his expectations heading into the summer.
“On the first day, we had to change our plans because we had 120 kids show up,” he said. “We’re super excited and impressed with the kids. They are the ones who have blown attendance out the roof and they are the ones who have created this atmosphere. Attendance has been great and the coaches have been great in being flexible.”
The UIL released guidelines for strength and conditioning workouts in early June that mandated athletes maintain a safe social distance and limited the number of athletes in a building.
As of Monday, a new set of guidelines went into place, requiring all participants to wear face masks while maintaining six-feet of distance while impossible.
Despite the circumstances, Wood said the kids have adjusted well.
“I’m impressed with their maturity,” he said. “It’s hard to get teenage kids not to congregate. It’s like herding cats. We have to keep them almost in a grid to keep them spaced out. The kids have been phenomenal. They’ve done an amazing job of accepting the changes and adapting.”
More than a month into the summer program, Wood and his staff have seen improvements in the athletes and he said they hope to keep building on that progress going forward.
“Everything we are doing is geared towards conditioning,” he said. “Lots of aerobics and the workouts have become lighter weight, higher rep. That is one of the changes we had to make with the situation. I think we are getting in a lot better shape, especially with the kids who are showing up every single day. You can see a lot of the kids becoming more coordinated. The biggest thing for me has been the culture. Seeing the kids all work together has been encouraging.”
Pre-season workouts for all sports are scheduled to begin on Aug. 3, but with the suspension of the fall junior college season and several college athletic moves, that date remains subject to change. Whatever the future holds, Wood said the Tigers and Lady Tigers will be ready.
“If things do work out for the better and a team has been anticipating things being cancelled, that team won’t be ready,” he said.
“A true competitor will take whatever they can get. We need to be positive around our kids and sell it as if we are a full-go.”