Dragons hit the weights with high hopes for 2021
Echoes of clanging weights and heavy-metal music filled the Cameron High School hallways as athletes prepare for the upcoming fall sports season.
With the football team fielding more than 70 athletes alone, the turnout for the CHS summer strength and conditioning program has impressed CHS coaches.
"It's fast-paced, but that's how we roll out here. We play fast so we decided if we're going to play fast, then we're going to workout fast too," said Cameron coach Jeremy Smith, who works with the football team's special teams and skill players.
As part of the program, athletes are split into two groups. While one group at Dave Goodwin Memorial Field works on speed and agility exercises, the other hits the does a focused circuit routine inside the weight room. All the while, some athletes keep an up-tempo by jogging from the football field to the weight room for an added benefit.
"It's very important. We're not one of the bigger schools around, but we have some decent size so we need to put on some weight and get stronger," said Caleb Rick, who catapulted himself into the starting lineup last season after putting on more than 20 pounds of muscle in the 2020 offseason. "It's great. We haven't seen a lot of kids come out for football like this in the past few years. We have to team them our values, get stronger and get them ready for their senior year ... My goal for bench is 315, which isn't great in hindsight, but it's a start."
READ MORE IN THIS WEEK'S EDITION OF THE CAMERON CITIZEN-OBSERVER, IN STORES THURSDAY.
