Tribe gets back to work

FORT RECOVERY — A half dozen or so boys were breaking a sweat throwing around iron Tuesday morning while a pair of adults kept a watchful eye.

Over in the east parking lot, almost 10 more students were perspiring more heavily, executing drills to become more explosive in the day’s beating sun hours before the heat really turned up.

Inside the air conditioned Fort Site Fieldhouse, girls were getting up shots, drilling on their ball-handling skills and focusing on footwork.

It ain’t much, but it’s honest work.

Fort Recovery High School student athletes are taking advantage of being allowed to develop their individual skills as restrictions by the OHSAA began loosening up last month.

“We wanted to open what we were allowed to from the state,” said athletics director and football coach Brent Niekamp. “We wanted to try to figure out how we could and follow the guidelines.”

Those guidelines include following the social distancing guidelines of being 6 feet apart. It also requires the athletes to not share workout equipment such as weights, balls, towels and water bottles.

Group sizes must also be limited to 10 or fewer, and allow a transition period between sessions to sanitize equipment.

“I had a lot of contact with the other athletic directors in (the Midwest Athletic Conference) and we all talked about how we read the regulations or the guidelines … and kind of got a consensus,” Niekamp said.

For his football team, Niekamp has one group inside the Student Activity Center lifting weights, while the other is outside running. Every half hour from 6 to 9 a.m. Tuesday and Thursday, the groups alternate between lifting and running.

“Feels great,” senior Owen Moorman said of getting back into the weight room. “It was terrible not being able to workout all quarantine.”

Moorman, who plays football and qualified for state in track as a sophomore, was limited to going on short runs at home, using an ab wheel and doing bodyweight workouts.

“It was nothing like getting back in here,” he said.

Niekamp said the logistics of opening up the school facilities to allow the athletes a reprieve from those home sessions wasn’t challenging. The coaches had been flexible in terms of problem solving in adhering to the recommendations.

“I think all of us felt this way once we could start to open back up, and open up sooner than we thought,” he said, noting his staff wasn’t expecting to be able to get back to work until July before OHSAA lifted its no-contact ban and allowed the skill training to resume May 26.

“Besides the guidelines that we need to follow, we’re not really losing our summer at all,” he continued. “Football we’re still doing exactly what we would be. It’s just taking a little longer because we have to spread the kids out.”

Fresh off her first year coaching the Tribe girls basketball team, Holly Gann also said her Indians haven’t missed much in terms of the summer workouts.

Her coaching staff is holding two sessions from 8 to 10 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, allowing the girls to attend either one depending on any other obligations.

The sessions are geared toward to the game’s fundamentals — shooting, dribbling and footwork. Gann is also holding optional open gym on Fridays.

For the remainder of the month, at least, there is a no-contact rule. The girls must not share basketballs and have to remain 6 feet apart. Those recommendations are expected to be lifted in July, during which the Indians can focus more on team drills.

At the very least, Gann, who is also an assistant track coach, sees the time off because of the coronavirus pandemic as a bit of a blessing in disguise.

“We actually have fresh athletes here,” she said.

With almost three full months away from their facilities, Niekamp, Moorman and Gann are all grateful to be back to work.

“The environment is definitely different just by not having everyone in the weight room at the same time, being able to push everybody (and) everybody yelling,” Moorman said. “It’s just a good time. But we’re making do with what we can. It’s still great to be back.”

Said Niekamp: “I think it did all of us good. First day we had workouts you saw a lot of smiling faces walking in here. It made me feel good. You could tell the guys were happy to see us coaches (and) we were happy to see them. It’s fun to get back in the routine of working out. It definitely makes me appreciate my time with these guys more, and I think it makes them appreciate their time together and with us working towards the common goal.”

Gann said she missed the nuances of basketball.

“Just the smell of the gym, the squeaking of the shoes,” she said. “All those very weird things that you just have that great appreciation for.

“It just feels like home.”