Here’s what high school athletes should be doing to stay in shape during shutdown
With the COVID-19 outbreak and governor Jay Inslee’s statewide shutdown, high school athletes are among those who, save for the trip to the grocery store or a walk around the neighborhood, are stuck at home.
The stay-at-home order has taken high school athletes out of their routines, with weight room workouts and team conditioning sessions no longer taking place. That’s not to say there isn’t an opportunity for athletes to stay in shape for their respective sports.
Lincoln High School football coach Masaki Matsumoto said he and the rest of his staff have been in constant communication with their athletes during the shutdown, encouraging them to stay active and hold themselves accountable.
“One of the first messages I sent out, was to make sure to structure your day,” Matsumoto said. “Even me, we all thrive in structure. To try to keep some sort of structure and keep things consistent. Who knows how many are doing it, but that’s something we all need.”
Matsumoto is among those trying to find a silver lining to the recent developments.
“I tell them, ‘Discipline yourself that you don’t have to be disciplined,’” Matsumoto said. “It’s a challenge for them to really see if they truly want to be successful. If they can be more intrinsically motivated. Character is who you are when no one is looking. It’s a great time for them to test that. Sort of the message I’ve been sending, hold yourself accountable and continue to do the stuff we’ve been doing.”
Jordan Dam, who runs Dam Performance Training, offering fitness and basketball skill instruction for youth athletes in the Tacoma area, said he’s told his clients to stay active while they’re stuck at home.
“Don’t get caught sitting on that couch and eating chips,” Dam said. “Right when you wake up, go get some stuff done. Go for a run, do whatever you do. If you have more free time, keep doing whatever.”
Chris Hyppa, who offers basketball skill training for athletes at all levels, from youth, to Division I college athletes, to some NBA players, offered a similar message.
“Right now is probably the best time where you can actually get creative,” Hyppa said. “They can watch YouTube and watch their favorite players and then go to the basement or park and emulate what they see. My biggest thing is telling players to get creative. That shouldn’t limit your ability to improve.”
With much of basketball culture, in particular, based on AAU during the offseason and a high quantity of games being the priority, individual skill work can often get overlooked.
“It’s one of the only chances to focus solely on themselves,” Hyppa said. “With AAU, kids will play 100 games in the offseason and they don’t get a lot of time to work on themselves. When you’re playing with a coach always in the gym, you’re always trying to play to your strengths. You don’t get the chance to work on things you’re not very good at. This is a great time to focus on that.”
Looking for some things to do while you’re stuck at home? Here are a few ways to stay active.
CHRIS HYPPA: BALL HANDLING
Hyppa, who can be found on Twitter, Instagram or Twitter, is offering a 28-day ball handling program for a discounted price right now.
“I have 350 people signed up, around the world, on stuff they can do in their backyard, their basement, front room,” Hyppa said.
Hyppa said every workout is different.
“There’s a stationary workout, two-ball workout, feet-still workout,” Hyppa said. “I have a series called three-step footwork. Changing direction series. If you’re not going to be that creative, just do stationary ball handling. Most kids, they don’t have baskets at home. If you don’t have a hoop, you’re stuck as far as what you can do. Mom and dad will probably let you bounce the ball in the house right now.”
Hyppa also recommended high school basketball players work on form shooting from their back and general fitness.
“You don’t have to work out every single day, but you’re not going up and down the floor,” Hyppa said. “I think you can do stuff every day now. These are things you can do every single day in your house. There’s no jumping, cutting, sliding. Working out will kind of calm you down a little bit. People that aren’t working out, they’re pacing and don’t know what to do.”
JORDAN DAM: STAY ACTIVE
Dam, who also works with basketball players, offered advice to athletes of any sport: Stay active, no matter what it looks like.
“I’ve been telling all of them to do pushups and core,” Dam said. “That’s simple stuff you can do in this house. Go for jogs around the neighborhood to keep their cardio going. If they have some bands, there are different workouts and stretches you can do with those … But getting that cardio in, for sure. Some kids won’t do anything over break, they’ll come back and be winded, be gassed.”
Here’s the ‘Quarantine Daily Routine’ Dam recommends:
Two-mile run
Push ups
Lunges
Toe raises
Core (Plans, sit ups, Russian twists, etc.)
Band work (if have)
Jump rope (if have)
Repeat this portion 5x
Ball handling (hoopers)
Stretch
Dam can be reached via email at damperfromancetraining@yahoo.com. He’s also on Instagram and Twitter.
MASAKI MATSUMOTO: BODY WEIGHT WORKOUTS
Matsumoto, who can be found on Twitter, also mentioned it’s a good time for high school athletes in particular to catch up on any late schoolwork and keep their minds sharp by reading books during free time.
As far as football conditioning, Matsumoto said the Abes’ program has focused on body-weight workouts — no equipment necessary.
“Pushups, core stuff, crunches, planks,” Matsumoto said. “Lunges, squats. Squat jumps, split squad jumps. If you have a coffee table, do some dips. We had one workout where they have weighted pushups with a backpack with books on their back.”
Here’s what one of Lincoln’s football workouts looks like:
Dynamic warm up
Weighted push ups 4x10 (backpack with books)
Weighted squats 4x15 (Backpack with books)
Backpack curls 4x12
Back side lunges 4x8 (each leg, return to standing position after each rep)
SL RDL 3x5 (each leg, no weight)
Crunches 5x25
Plans 3x1 min
Running:
QB/RB/LB: 8x20-yard sprints
WR: 5 Go Routes, 5 post routes, 5 slants
DB: 8x back pedal 10 yds + Turn and sprint 10 yards (work on turning left and right 4/4)
OL/DL: 20 reps of stance + First two steps, 10x10-yard sprints out of your stance
Stretch and cool down
Be sure to check out our video at the top of the page on the online version of the story, for demonstrations on drills and workouts, as well as a few examples of the creative ways high school athletes in the South Sound have been staying in shape during the shutdown.
