Colts establish culture in the weight room
When the stadium lights go out for the season, the Colts work doesn’t stop there. A great amount of effort goes into the weight training program to make it as impactful for the student athletes as possible. For Colt football players, getting opportunities to get stronger and faster is everything. Players not only grow physically, but also mentally. With the assistance of Coach Elsenrath, the team’s strength and conditioning coordinator, Coahulla Creek football can perform at its best.
Coach E, as players call him, is one of the most important coaches behind Coahulla Creek’s football program. He trains student athletes day after day in order for them to play to the best of their abilities. His philosophy for the weight room is “get them stronger, get them mentally stronger…and make them able to perform to the best of their abilities.” Through his 40 years of coaching, he has realized the weight room is valuable time spent with an athlete, especially during the athlete’s offseason.
One of the biggest benefits Coach E sees when it’s gametime is the confidence boost. Football players gain the “I can do it” mindset each and every year through accomplishing things they never knew they could do, and through self recognition. It becomes a huge game changer when an individual recognizes the difference in themselves because of the improvements made through the strength and conditioning program.
Several of the Colt players personally noticed how Coach E and his program have helped them build and improve for their next season. Hudson Sherrets, a first year junior, says “Everything you do in the weightroom translates onto the field.“ He has increased his muscle mass and tackling has become much easier for him since he began his football career. Sherrets has overall become a better player, has obtained a better mindset, and is driven to keep pushing now that he is weightlifting.
Junior Isaac McGill also comments on the changes he has seen in his strength during the offseason. He describes their practice drills as being “performed at game speed” and Isaac feels that this “benefits him most for the game”. McGill, the team’s starting center, explains that he has gained advantages in speed and strength to hold down the middle thanks to Coach E.
Even the freshman, who just started this year, have realized the benefits of training in the offseason. Wyatt Mann has seen improvement in his playing ability because of the work he does in the gym. He speaks highly of Coach E by saying he gives the players’ advantages by “making sure they don’t cheat… in or outside the weightroom.” and he adds that the program is always “pushing us to our limits.” Honest hard work is a major key in the program.
Coach Elsenrath stresses the importance of offseason training in order for players to be able to see the improvements in themselves. It is a time of growth and bonding in order for a player to believe in themselves when they step on the field under the Friday Night Lights. “Every team only lives one year,” explains coach E, “that last game of the season; that team dies.” The time spent out of season, training, is the foundation for the team being born each year.
Practice on the field may not be in session, but the Colts do not limit their advancements until the spring and fall. Coach Elsenrath and the strength and conditioning program will continue to push the Coahulla Creek Colts to greater heights.
By: Ava Howell & Jenny Cook – Coahulla Creek Football Writers