In any athletic field, if an athlete wants to get better they must train. The truth is, every athlete will face competition, and the competitor will rise due to their opponents’ missed opportunities during training. Many athletes have worked at camps this summer to prepare themselves for the fall season.

Sawyer Schmidt (9) attended a summer cross country camp in Colorado Springs that taught him how to run better and stay fit. Schmidt is currently stepping it up from running a one and a half mile race in middle school to a 5K now.

“We have a solid team this year, and we have a good chance of winning a couple races,” Schmidt said.

Abbee Rhodes (12) is a prime example of an offseason hard worker. When Rhodes was not working, she competed on a traveling basketball team. Her team had practice every week and tournaments every weekend. Rhodes also had a consistent attendance to morning weights.

Along with Rhodes’ hard work, she participated in a no-fat, no-sugar diet. By eliminating nearly all sugars, and cut down on fats, she lost almost 15 pounds. Schmidt (9) agrees that a big part of staying healthy is eating healthy.

“Everybody wants to be better at what they do, some people are more committed to actually attempting to get better so if your taking things for granted someone out there is just going to show you up and make you look like a fool,” Rhodes said.

Head football coach Jason Filbeck knows first-hand who’s been putting in the work at their morning workouts.

Filbeck his top four hardest workers of the summer were, he said Dominik Ketchum (12), Isaiah Hernandez (11), Gavin Payne (11) and Rhodes. One of his main criteria was consistent attendance. Filbeck is excited to see his athletes develop throughout their seasons’.

“You can tell if a kid has worked or played [during the off-season] if they have an insane desire #CoreValues,” Filbeck said.