As the end of the last of the fall sports approaches, many athletes have shifted their focus to off-season training for upcoming sports. There is a wide variety of sports yet to be played including but not limited to soccer, lacrosse, track and field, swimming, baseball, and volleyball. The athletes here at our school seem more eager than ever to get into their respective sport and dominate the field. 

While there is a strong need for off-season training athletes are struggling to find ways to improve themselves, making it even harder, there are restrictions on such training. These include not being able to train in certain ways, a limited amount of participants, or postponing training entirely. 

Many athletes are taking the opportunity to get training through club teams and programs. Lily Meskers, a runner on the Erie track team, has been training with Real Training. Real Training is a club track program for athletes to run in their free time and train at a high level in the offseason. “It is making a really big difference and I am seeing results,” Meskers said. She hopes to return to track faster than ever, all helped by an off-season workload. 

For some sports such as lacrosse, the training is able to remain through the school. However, just about two weeks ago, they canceled the regular pre-season practices with updating guidelines in Boulder County. Now, the team is only able to lift, but for many players, it is better than nothing. 

Will Johns, A senior varsity player on the lacrosse team, said, “Being able to lift has been a big help preparing and keeping the team and I in the shape we need to be in.” The lacrosse team still has a different offseason than what they normally would have with practicing on the lacrosse field, but the fact that there is a way to lift is a big relief for a lot of players aiming to champion this spring.

Although training this year is unconventional for most, athletes continue to work just as hard as ever. We will just have to wait and see what kinds of great things the athletes here at Erie can do while we cheer them along the way.