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Ponderosa football trains through the pandemic

No days off for the Ponderosa football team! Strength and Conditioning coach Patrick Nolan creates unique and functional fitness at home.

PARKER, Colo. — These are not your typical at-home workouts.

"Saturday is 'be a kid Saturday,'" Ponderosa Strength and Conditioning coach Patrick Nolan says to his football team through a YouTube video. "So go out, play tennis, climb a tree, ride a bike, just be safe and have fun!"

And these out-of-the-box and often juvenile games are all still part of his plan. Nolan is getting creative to keep his football players engaged and on-track with their typical off-season program.

"Whether we're making adjustments, whether some kids are using backpacks, towels, finding a way, rocks, getting creative while still staying smart and safe."

Nolan is leaning on his positional leaders for help: current junior safety Cael Porter, junior quarterback Jack Hanenburg, junior wide receiver Kolton Miller, sophomore defensive lineman Alex Taylor, junior offensive lineman Joey Treccia, and junior linebacker Noah Randall. Nolan sends the workout each day to the leaders, and it's their responsibility to forward it to their teams. Once each player finishes the workout, they send it as a time lapse back to their leaders and back to Nolan. The team with the highest percentage of participation at the end of each week earns points toward the contest. At the end of the spring, the team with the most points earns a BBQ dinner and a t-shirt.

"We actually took home the week one win for participation, and to all of my other leaders, that's not going to change!" Kolton Miller playfully shouted to his teammates over Zoom.

A little healthy competition can go a long way while trying to create virtual camaraderie.

"Competition really drives a lot in people and that can be a lot of motivation to keep going," Alex Taylor said.

Cael Porter is trying to emphasize to his young teammates that competition and strength training is the key to making the team. He said most of the incoming players on the defensive backfield are upcoming sophomores.

"Just drive into their minds that they need to compete and they need to beat all of these other teams," he said. "Let them know that we're a team but you still need to work together to get each other better."

At the end of the day, the Mustangs know they're in the same boat as everyone else; they just want to be the strongest once they get out.

"To be good on the field, you need to be good in the weight room and that's where this all comes into play," Noah Randall said.

Offensive lineman Joey Treccia isn't disagreeing with his teammate that teams are made in the weight room, but he just in agrees with his coach that you don't need an actual weight room to put in the hard work.

"I use a backpack, I don't have a home gym," he said. "I use a backpack and fill it with textbooks and heavy stuff."

His quarterback doesn't care how he gets his work in. He only cares that Treccia and his fellow linemen are getting the work in to protect him in September.

"It's all we can do right now," Jack Hanenburg said. "You don't know what the future holds so you have to be ready at this moment."

"Being able to control what you can control and staying positive, it's going to help in the long run," Miller said.

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