By CLAIRE CRUZ, Staff Writer
Coaches teach their athletes to fight through adversity, overcome obstacles and never give up.
Those lessons are being put to the test across the Rio Grande Valley as the COVID-19 pandemic has halted sports at all levels across the globe. East Valley athletes are finding creative ways through apps and social media to continue working out and communicating with teammates.
Los Fresnos freshman basketball player Gerry Martinez is using this time to get stronger with help from his family. The reigning All-Metro newcomer of the year and District 32-6A co-MVP was issued a challenge by Falcons hoops coach Marco Hinojosa to put on 10 pounds of muscle before next season, and his brother, Gabe, is helping him reach that goal.
The Martinez family repurposed their “man cave” in to a home gym when Cameron County started tightening its social distancing rules. They invested in gym mats and equipment, and Gabe is coaching the younger Gerry through the workouts sent by Hinojosa via Rack Performance and an intense weight training regimen.
Gerry Martinez and the Falcons are staying in touch via texting in group chats to encourage each other to stay active and work hard any way they can.
“(My brother and I) are lifting weights every day. I’m doing upper body, chest and legs, and before that we do a 20-minute jog because Coach Hinojosa wants us to stay active,” Gerry Martinez said. “I FaceTime a couple of teammates, like my closest friends, but mostly I just text them to see how they’re doing. We have a group chat with the coaches, and we’re texting in that, like, all day. I feel like we’re doing a good job working out (on our own), so even though we’re not in school we’re still getting ahead.”
Rio Hondo’s Savanna Gonzalez also is leaning on family to help her stay active at home. Her dad, Sergio, is the Bobcats’ baseball coach and is making sure she does the workouts coaches are sending via Rack Performance.
Gonzalez is a junior who participates in volleyball, softball and track & field. She was having a good season competing in the 100-meter and 300-meter hurdles, and is staying prepared in hopes of the season picking up again. She’s staying in touch with teammates to motivate them to stay ready, too.
Gonzalez, her parents and her two brothers — who also play sports — are completing the workouts together. There is plenty of smack talk involved based on who performs better each day.
“I do my Rack Performance workout each day, and I run two miles and practice softball with my dad, working on my hitting. It’s really fun doing it with (my family) because they make me push myself more,” Gonzalez said. “I’m just trying to keep a good mindset with everything and run as much as I can so I can be better whenever the season comes. I FaceTime a lot of (teammates and friends) to catch up with them and make sure they’re doing their workouts also, (and telling them) just to work hard and whenever everything goes back to normal all of this will pay off.”
Nathan Huerta, a sophomore football player and track & field athlete at Harlingen High, is using Twitter to share his workouts and motivate his teammates to stay active. He follows the workouts sent by his coaches, but he also does regimens he finds online to make him faster, stronger and more explosive.
“I’m just finding anything I can around the house to help make me better as well as help my team be more successful,” Huerta said. “(Twitter) helps a lot because if (my teammates) see a leader doing work, they’re going to be, like, ‘Oh, now I need to do it so I can get better.’ What we go by at Harlingen High School is, ‘Mental toughness, extra effort,’ and that’s what I’m using as my own mentality.”
Huerta and his teammates are using Zoom, a video conferencing tool that is rapidly gaining popularity due to social distancing, and creating group chats to stay in touch. The Cardinals are making the online interactions fun by competing against each other and coaches in timed workouts.
But it’s not all fun and games for Huerta. He’s hopeful the track & field season will return, so he’s making sure to throw his discus and practice his techniques. Huerta sees this obstacle as a growing experience for himself and his teammates.
“This is going to help us a lot (when things get back to normal) because it’s going to make us more accountable on what we need to get. (It’s helping me) be a leader for my team and getting myself some exposure to college coaches.”
La Feria tennis seniors Azrael Gamboa and Neena Rios had their seasons suddenly postponed but are staying in touch with their coaches and teammates while staying prepared for their district meet.
Gamboa teamed up with Lionnettes track athlete Marina Villanueva to run miles, but when the shelter-in-place order went into affect he turned to a runner’s workout she taught him to focus on dynamic movements.
Rios made an agility ladder using tape in her driveway to work on her footwork and rides her bike for cardio. The La Feria tennis team exchanges instructional videos and words of encouragement in a group chat.