Loveland, Ohio – Summer will be here before you know it, which means football season is right around the corner! Many LHS athletes have been working hard during the Stay At Home Order so that they are prepared when competition starts up again. Coach Andy Cruse and his football players are one of the Tiger teams that have made sure that they are staying in shape for the 2020 upcoming season!
Coach Cruise told us that his players have not only been working hard but they have also been very creative with their workouts.
“One of the things we have tried to do as a football program to make sure we continue to make progress in the off-season is using the Team Buildr App. This app is great for bodyweight workouts and it also includes videos that show the proper technique for each exercise,” Cruse explained, “The app also has both dumbbell workouts and home gym workouts. We also created a 3k push-up challenge for the month of April, in which each player completes 100 push-ups a day. Many of our players are doing it with family members and often record themselves doing it to have a little fun with it. They are doing this on top of their regular workouts,” Cruse said.
Andy Cruse when he was introduced as the Tiger Head Coach in February of 2019 (File Photo)
Coach Cruse said that twice a week he is holding Zoom meetings with his players in order to get to know them better and discuss football.
“The Zoom meetings have been very positive. I think the players are really enjoying having interaction with their teammates and coaches during this time,” Cruse said, “We have encouraged our players to do position-specific drills as well. As a program, we are retweeting our players working out and spreading positivity as much as possible during this time,” Cruse added.
Due to all of the gyms being closed and of course, LHS athletes are not able to use any of the LHS facilities, Tiger athletes have been forced to get creative with how they are staying in shape. A few Tiger football players shared with us what they have been doing at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gabe Ogdan was a Captain of the 2019 team. (File Photo)
Gabe Ogdan said, “I’m lucky enough to have my own home gym, but still have had to get creative for certain things! It’s been interesting but with not as much school I’ve been able to devote more time to speed and agility training as well as weight lifting and bulking.”
Max Huddleston said, “My home gym is minimal, and for some exercises, I may not have the right equipment. For example for pull-ups, since I don’t have a pull-up bar, I’ll do them on a steel beam in my basement.”
Mason Moore said, “I don’t have a home gym and the heaviest dumbbells I have are eight pounds, so I have to do my best to get my workouts in with what I can make do. I use paper plates as ab sliders, I do pull-ups on a metal beam on my ceiling, and I do lots of cardio along with the bodyweight workouts our coaches have us do.”
My dad is a landscaper so he had some stuff I could get creative with. I used bricks and stones to do various things and made a bench out of stones and a board and used a tube and metal bars to make a bar. – Weston Manske
Zach DeWitt said, “I am thankful to have many opportunities to maintain and build upon what we have been building this offseason. The absence of a field, however, has made me turn the front yard and driveway into everything I need for speed and agility training.”
Luca Aquilino said, “Since I only have a couple of things of workout equipment I’ve been sticking to lots of bodyweight workouts from our TeamBuildr app. I’ve had to use wooden shelving in my garage to do pull-ups and I have had to put bands around trees and around my basketball hoop to add a little bit of weight to workouts.”
Weston Manske said, “My dad got a bench this past weekend so now I can use that but before I had to get creative. My dad is a landscaper so he had some stuff I could get creative with. I used bricks and stones to do various things and made a bench out of stones and a board and used a tube and metal bars to make a bar. At my mom’s, I have resistance bands and then I found cinderblocks in my shed I use. I’ve also found basketball hoops are good for pull-ups.”
Loveland, Ohio – With May arriving in just a few days, many LHS students are still trying to process that they will not be stepping foot back into their schools for the remainder of the academic year. LHS student-athletes also received some devastating news last week confirming that they would not be competing in their designated Spring sport for the remainder of the school year. With all of the unfortunate news, LHS coaches have been trying to place a positive spin on everything by providing their athletes with workouts that they can do at home as well as a variety of other motivational tools!
LHS’s Head Women’s Volleyball Coach, Brian Baugh, is one of the LHS Coaches that has really been dedicating a lot of his time during the Stay At Home Order to his team in order to keep them both motivated and dedicated to their craft.
“For Women’s volleyball, the Spring and Summer are extremely important for getting the girls ready for the season. Typically we would hold open gyms and lift throughout the week,” Baugh said, “Many of the girls would be participating in club season as well, but like every team, we have had to adapt. We are fortunate that at Loveland we have Strength and Conditioning Coach, Derek Berry, on staff. He puts together workouts that are pushed out to our players through the Team Buildr app. It’s a great way for the athletes to work out at home and for me to track their workouts.”
Coach Baugh told us that many of his players have gotten very creative with their volleyball training, creating things around the house to help them work on their skills. Many of the team’s siblings and parents are helping them at home with their skill sets as well!
LHS’s Head Women’s Volleyball Coach, Brian Baugh
“To me, the most important thing is to come together as a team, so that whenever we get back on that court, we are building each other up and have each other’s backs when things get tough,” Baugh explained, “We are fortunate that our future seniors are really leading the charge. We have great leaders in Maya Jepson, Diana Clark, Abbie Miller, Alex Miller, Faith Meece, and Ellie Egan. They are high character girls. They have created different competitions for the team to complete during the quarantine. For example, they did a baking competition where they baked and decorated cakes and then put them on Twitter to have fans vote for the best. They also created a virtual pepper video that they put on Twitter. We have been sharing baby pictures of each player and are having fans guess which player or coach is featured in the picture. We also have been holding Google Meets weekly to check-in on one another.”
Coach Baugh says he has been challenging his players weekly. One of the ways Coach Baugh has been challenging his team during the isolation period is by asking them once a week how they have improved as a player and a person. After the player comes up with their answer Coach Baugh has them share their response with the team.
“It has certainly been a challenge not being on the court, but I am so impressed with how the players have responded during this time off,” Coach Baugh said with pride, “I cannot wait to see how they go for that fourth straight ECC title this coming season!”
For more LHS sports updates stay tuned to the Loveland Sports 411 With Cassie Mattia!
by Cassie Mattia
Team Buildr App. This app is great for bodyweight workouts and it also includes videos that show the proper technique for each exercise,” Cruse explained, “The app also has both dumbbell workouts and home gym workouts. We also created a 3k push-up challenge for the month of April, in which each player completes 100 push-ups a day. Many of our players are doing it with family members and often record themselves doing it to have a little fun with it. They are doing this on top of their regular workouts,” Cruse said.
Be sure to tune in to Loveland Sports 411 With Cassie Mattia for Loveland’s latest sports news and updates!
