The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
MENTOR ATHLETES EXCITED TO BE BACK
Athletes from many sports spread out across campus on time intervals
Mariya Sapryga had a smile on her face.
Yeah, her arms were burning as she did an upper-body workout on a bench at Mentor’s new softball facility, but she had a smile on her face as sweat beaded up on her forehead.
At least she was there, working out with her teammates.
And not at home, as she had been the previous three months.
For the first time since the novel coronavirus shut down schools and athletic facilities in early March, there was a hustle-and-bustle around the Mentor athletic facilities on June 8 as workouts were held for the first time since winter.
There were weary legs, there was plenty of sweat, there was a lot of huffing and puffing.
But there were smiles.
“It really sucked the last couple of months not being able to be with my teammates and stuff,” said Evan Boyd, who will be a senior football player at Mentor this fall. “Just being out here with my team is great . ... and I’ve only been here for 20 minutes.”
While many schools across Ohio began their workouts on June 1 when guidelines to combat COVID-19 were eased by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, as well as the Ohio High School Athletic Association, Mentor waited until June 8 to bring student-athletes back in for workouts.
Social distancing measures remain in place. Coaches were wearing masks to cover the mouths and noses, and student-athletes were 6 feet or more apart from each other from the time the first whistle blew around 6:30 a.m.
COVID-19 is still very much a threat, one the athletes and their coaches know about and respect. So all involved are acknowledging the safety precautions just to ensure they can keep working out.
In the early morning hours, first-year football coach Matt Gray had players work out, first-year girls soccer coach Ken Skilton had his troops on the soccer facility, both volleyball and girls basketball were on the artificial turf softball field (one team on each baseline), and even the cheerleaders were working out out on a green next to the school.
Boys basketball and boys soccer were slated to come in for afternoon workouts, while wrestling and hockey were slotted for the evening shift.
“It was a challenge,” said Mentor AD Jeff Cassella of organizing guidelines for workouts for one of the largest schools in Ohio. “But we had a lot of guidance from the OHSAA, the national federation and the governor’s office. It was a challenge. But it was great to see everybody back.”
Gray had five stations set up at which football players, who came in as part of smaller groups from 6:30 to 11:45 a.m., could work out.
At the sound of Gray’s air horn, groups rotated to a different station.
“We had the big boys — the offensive and defensive lines, as well as the running backs — here early,” Gray said. “They brought the juice.”
There was no complaining about the early start, nor about the workouts in general.
“It’s a challenge, but we preach all the time that you’re going to have adversity,” Gray said. “You don’t know what (adversity) is going to show up. It’s all about how you react to it . ... We’re not going to sit back and complain. We’re going to go out and try to get better.”
Alleigh Stout, a member of Skilton’s girls soccer program, agreed. Getting better and meeting her teammates – both new and old — was a breath of fresh air.
“Obviously I’m worried about what’s to come,” she said of the fall season and how it might unfold with COVID-19 guidelines. “We just want to focus on getting back on the field, playing, and getting back to doing things as normal as possible.”
Hrusovsky’s girls basketball season doesn’t officially start until November. But getting the girls in for workouts — even if it isn’t in a gymnasium, but rather on a softball field — was welcome. He doesn’t know yet when his players will get to play 1-on-1, 3-on-3 or even be at the same basket together. But the proceedings of June 8 were welcome nonetheless.
“We’ve been champing at the bit, being at home and not seeing the kids,” he said. “It’s great to be back.”