A Sturgeon Composite High School football coach is taking spring training online this month to get his players fired up for the fall.
About 45 students were expected to step up for the Sturgeon Composite Spirits football spring training camp this May 4.
Coach Chad Hill said this year’s camp would be held online due to physical distancing requirements brought in for the coronavirus pandemic.
“We get so many kids who have never even played football,” he said, and spring training is vital for them to learn the basics of the sport.
Hill said he set up a Google Classroom last fall to start players on off-season workouts. He and his fellow coaches plan to turn it into a full-fledged sports camp this month with videos demonstrating basic football skills, explanations of the different positions and plays, analyses of past games, and training goals.
“There’s a lot of stuff they can do, honestly, at home,” Hill explained.
You can’t practice tackling on your parents, for example – not safely in any case – but you can learn the proper stance and body position and build muscle memory, Hill said. Players won’t be able to be fitted for pads and helmets, but coaches would be able to run balls to those that need them.
“Nothing is going to take the place of actually being out there together on the field,” Hill said, but he hopes this experience will improve player morale.
“There’s a lot of these kids where sports is their main reason for staying positive and active in school.”
Players pumped
Rivière Qui Barre-area resident and Spirits cornerback Reece Reaville said this virtual camp is a smart idea that would keep the team moving forward as it enters its third season.
“I think if we train properly, it could put us a couple of strides ahead of the other teams.”
Reaville said his life pretty much revolved around sports, and he was deeply disappointed when hockey shut down just as his team was about to start a championship series. He said he is excited to start training camp, and predicted it would be the highlight of his time in quarantine.
Spirits wide receiver and Gibbons-area resident William Campbell said a virtual camp might be a bit weird to start, but should also be fun. He wasn’t sure how he would do a lot of his training on his own, but noted he does have a brother who could help with his passes.
Campbell voiced concern about the team’s chemistry, as they wouldn’t be able to play with the rookies in person until this fall.
“It’ll be weird for sure. I was looking forward to getting to know the young guys coming up.”
Reaville said he is confident the team would come together, and said it would be up to the team’s close-knit veterans to step up and provide leadership to the rookies. Online training might force them to put more effort into teambuilding.
Campbell said the team’s biggest challenge this season would be the loss of star quarterback Zach Froese, who graduates from Sturgeon Composite this year.
“He was one of the best quarterbacks in the league and I was always having him throw to me.”
Hill noted it is still unclear if provincial health regulations would even permit high school football this fall, and acknowledged he might be idealistic when it comes to the outcomes of this camp. Still, he hopes it will still give players a sense of teamwork and a mental and physical boost.
“If some of the students don’t really improve that much or get that much better from it, it is what it is, but I think it’s worth the effort.”
Hill said the camp would run for about four weeks.
