Summer Conditioning

Summer conditioning is over half way complete. Roosevelt football has been working out four days a week on Monday’s, Tuesday’s Thursday’s and Friday’s from 9-11 am. The overall numbers have been good (I’ll post official numbers later). Leading the way are seniors Bobby Walker, Hampton Terry, Kalliy Ceesay, John Yuzvak, Ryan Heller, Jacob Brown, and Nikil Rao. Unlike summers in the past, this group of seniors is demonstrating their commitment to Rider football and its quest to post its first winning record and post-season appearance in KingCo 4A. They are certainly paying the price now for victories in the fall and are leading the way to graduating the tradition of seniors taking the summer off. Another note worth mentioning, to this day, junior John Verrall has yet to miss a day of conditioning this summer!

For the second summer in a row, the incoming freshman football players have shown an eagerness to get started. I am most impressed with their listening skills in regards to performing lifts safely and correctly. So far we have had 22 freshman show up for workouts. They have big shoes to fill as last years freshman posted a 7-1 record, winning the Metro League Championship. Lead by Steven Donatall, Garrett Mack, Sam Carletti, Michael Bennett, Jejomar Abatayo, Brooks Crist, and Joe Ptasnik these boys are poised to keep that a Rider football tradition.

Nice work boys! Keep it up! Your hard work and dedication is not going unnoticed! We know how difficult it is balancing summer fun and relaxation with jobs, community service, and family vacations. Your payday is coming soon. As the great Paul “Bear” Bryant once said, “the price of victory is high, but so are the rewards.”

The open weight room from 11:00-12:30, also on Monday’s, Tuesday’s Thursday’s and Friday’s, has been met with enthusiasm, most notably by Rider athletes from girls basketball and soccer, but also swimming, lacrosse and tennis. The girls have a head start on developing the necessary hip (gluts) and hamstring strength that their sports demand to improve their performance and most importantly to reduce their risk of ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injuries. Workouts include performing band walks and hip circuit exercises, followed by general strength and power exercises such as front and back squats, 1-leg squats, dead lifts, RDL’s (Romanian dead lifts, but also known as straight leg dead lifts), pull-ups, bench press, push-ups, and hang cleans.

It has also been a great pleasure to work with graduated senior soccer players Benicia Brogan and Meritt Peterson. Benicia will be playing at Idaho State and Meritt at the University of San Francisco. We wish you all the best as you prepare for college and soccer at the next level!

Until next time,

yours in strength,

Coach Katinas

PS My apologies if I misspelled your name, I went off attendance sheets and sign-ins.

Welcome to the RHS Strength and Conditioning blogspot!

Welcome Riders! Athletes, students, parents, alumni, and all interested in the advancement of Rider athletics and the health and fitness of the RHS community are welcomed to read and respond to my posts on this blog spot.

As we enter our third year in the new fitness center, the number of athletes and students taking advantage of the top of the line facilities that we have continues to grow. To reach all students and parents that may have questions, comments and/or concerns, this blog site will seek to serve the appetites of those that yearn for the best in strength, conditioning, and general fitness.

I look forward to discussions on fitness in the future!

Yours in strength,

Coach Katinas