By STEFAN MODRICH, Staff Writer
Hanna, Lopez, Pace, Porter, Rivera and Brownsville Veterans Memorial all opened their summer strength and conditioning camps Monday in accordance with the University Interscholastic League’s new regulations for group and individual sport workouts during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
The UIL made the following changes just two days into its first phase of approved athletic summer instructional periods. Beginning June 22, indoor facilities may be used at up to 50 percent capacity, and group sizes may also increase from 10 to 15 students. A change that immediately went into effect Tuesday was the elimination of the 20 to 1 student-to-staff ratio.
Nonetheless, BISD has elected to limit its athletic activities to the outdoors. At Rivera, the garage doors of the Raiders’ new strength and conditioning complex have been lifted to allow for air ventilation, while the building provides shade from the intense Rio Grande Valley summer heat. The school saw a turnout of about 175 participants for each of its first two sessions.
“We still have to fit half of the kids (inside the hybrid facility) and half outdoors,” Rivera coach and athletic coordinator Beto Leal said. “But at least they’re not in the sun for the whole two hours.”
Student-athletes are permitted 90 minutes of sport instruction in addition to the strength and conditioning session, but they are allowed no more than 60 minutes of instruction in a given sport.
“We’re taking it slow, as far as weights,” Leal said. “Everybody’s been out. … We’re bringing them along slowly but surely, just to do the right thing. Water, masks, being 10 feet away from each other when we do a station, stuff like that. It’s great to get back to the grind. The turnout was pretty good.”
BISD athletic director Gilbert Leal visited each of the six participating campuses to observe their workouts, which are designed with a focus on fall sports. But all sports, including basketball and others which traditionally compete indoors, also are able to resume non-contact workouts.
Los Fresnos basketball coach Marco Hinojosa tweeted several videos Tuesday of his athletes participating in agility drills on the football field of the Los Fresnos United campus.
Point Isabel ISD has elected to suspend Port Isabel’s strength and conditioning programs until further notice, and is encouraging its athletes to continue with at-home workouts.
Brownsville Veterans coach David Cantu said masks are required for participants during their temperature check, which is conducted by a trainer and done before they can be admitted onto the field for the workout.
The Chargers’ athletic coordinator also said Brownsville Veterans had 164 players show up Monday and 167 on Tuesday.
“The (turnout) gets me very excited, because we’re gaining confidence as a community about being able to go back into a school facility,” Cantu said. “That means our parents are trusting us, that we’re doing things right and setting up safety measures.”
Brownsville Veterans has implemented a series of exercises that can be done with a plate and without a barbell, as the limit of indoor facilities for now includes a lack of access to the weight room, which is a staple of so many athletic programs.
Hanna also moved much of its equipment outdoors to the school’s courtyard, another safety measure to provide shade.
The Chargers, too, are emphasizing a gradual rise in intensity, with the understanding that a three-month layoff from their normal training will mean that some athletes need more time to recover.
At the same time, some of the social distancing measures can be a cause of social anxiety for coaches and athletes who have spent much of the spring in some form of relative isolation.
“You want to high-five, you want to hug,” Cantu said. “These are kids that — we’re with each other so much. There’s a lot of air-fives going around and a lot of mental embraces, I guess. But it was still fantastic and beautiful to see.”
Rivera’s coaching staff and strength and conditioning coach Chito Macias have been implementing CrossFit workout programs sent out over Zoom meetings from Baylor University, the University of Texas at Austin and Texas Tech.
The approach BISD coaches are taking is one of an abundance of caution, at the direction of Leal, the AD, and superintendent René Gutiérrez.
“We’re in uncharted territory, like everybody’s saying,” Beto Leal said. “When we went to school, they didn’t tell us anything about this.”