Llano and Marble Falls athletes to start summer strength and conditioning June 13

Llano and Marble Falls athletes are mentally preparing for the voluntary sessions of summer strength and conditioning that begin Monday, June 13.

Burnet and Faith Academy of Marble Falls began last week, while Smoking for Jesus School Ministry started May 31.

In Marble Falls high school boys will arrive first for their two-hour session that typically runs from 7-9 a.m. followed by the high school girls and middle school athletes from 8-10 a.m.

Football assistant coach and powerlifting head coach Robert Draper said Marble Falls athletes will all be in the weight room at the same time from 8-9 a.m.

Assistant coach Richard Scales, who also serves as the athletic program’s strength-and-conditioning coach, met with the Lady Mustangs coaches to ask what improvements they want to see in their players.

“They figured out a program for them,” Draper said. “It’ll be good. Hopefully they’ll have a lot of girls show up.”

The University Interscholastic League also is allowing coaches to work with players on sport-specific drills, something the organization allowed in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic when stay-at-home orders were issued in the spring that weren’t lifted until the summer.

“We’ll focus on little chunks,” Marble Falls athletics director and football head coach Brian Herman said. “They allowed it in March 2020. That summer they said you can do skill work to make up for lost time. The UIL allowed summer skill work in all sports. Now you can instruct, but there’s a limited amount of time.”

The Mustangs will spend about 45 minutes in the weight room then do conditioning and other drills outdoors.

Draper noted strength and conditioning isn’t just about getting stronger and faster. It’s also about bonding and building rapport as teammates because they’re together working toward the same goal. That’s what helped with the 2021 offensive line, said Draper, who is the offensive line coach.

“They build that camaraderie and together it helps overall,” he said.

Not participating in strength-and-conditioning programs now means players will be behind their teammates and opponents when training camps open in August, he added.

“In this day and age, you have to do something,” he said. “We’re hoping we’ll get the kids to show up here where they’re seeing each other put in the work and their bodies changing.”

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