Athletic training moves to school day

The days are numbered for Creston student-athletes getting back from an away game late at night, and getting up early for strength and agility training the next morning before school.

The Creston Community Schools Board of Directors Monday approved a report by Bill Messerole, high school principal, outlining the addition of an athletic enhancement class to the physical education curriculum beginning next fall.

The class can be taken as the annual PE requirement in one semester, or as an elective class the other semester. It is a one-credit class, known as Panther Performance. Boys would have class two days a week for lifting and movement training, girls would meet the other two days and Fridays would be used for teaching the mental aspects of athletics. Boys and girls would alternate weeks in taking that Friday session.

So, each student would have the 84-minute class five times in a two-week period.

It will always be held in the first class block of the day, so there could be recovery time before practices or games, and instructors would be free for their other instructional duties the rest of the day. Bill Messerole, high school principal, said the class will be staffed by two PE-certified instructors in each session.

The curriculum will include leadership lessons and mental health coping skills on Fridays.

An option for the early-morning strength and training that is already available will still be offered for those students involved in band or college classes that conflict with the first-block class schedule.

The concept was introduced to students on Feb. 6. To date, 108 male athletes and 60 female athletes have registered for the class in the 2024-25 fall semester.

One-half of each class period will begin the period in the weight room and half will do the straight-line speed training and change of direction training; and midway through the period they will switch to the other training segment. Enrollment is too large for everyone to lift at the same time or train in the gymnasium together.

Unified approach

Creston special education teacher and assistant football coach Garrison Carter, who instructed the class at his former position in the ADM district, said an advantage of having the class is that all Creston athletes will perform the same program. Lifting and other physical training will not be “sport-specific.”

“We’re looking to have stronger, faster and more explosive athletes in all sports,” Carter said. “Everybody will be doing the same things. We’re taking it off the plate of the in-season coaches. Their job is to coach their sport, not also coach strength and conditioning.”

Carter added that the time saved in the long day of a student involved in activities is the primary driving force of this class.

“The big reason we’re doing this is that we’re trying to streamline strength and conditioning,” Carter told an assembly of students informed about the proposal on Feb. 6 in the school auditorium. “Now, in-season it happens around your practice, right? We’re trying to eliminate that and allow athletes to be athletes after school, and take care of the strength and conditioning as part of the school day in the mornings.”

While working out together, Carter said an inclusive culture will be developed, rather than athletes from each sport training separately before or after their practices. And, instructors will have more experience in teaching lifting and agility training than many of the coaches in the athletic department.

Messerole said a similar class was developed at Centerville High School when he was principal and Carter was a student there. Carter graduated in 2006.

Time saver

“We added it there for basically the same reasons we’re adding it here,” Messerole said. “We thought, if we can get that into the school day instead of pre-practice or after practice, we’re getting kids home earlier in the day. And, when we surveyed some of the female athletes, there was a preference to have lifting in a boys section and a girls section. Now, for example, we might have (boys and girls) track and field and tennis lift before practice, then soccer boys and girls after practice. We have a schedule with a lot of kids running through there and that puts a lot on the coaches and keeps kids here later.”

Messerole said a low-impact fitness class was added to the PE curriculum a few years ago. This addition to the PE program is another fitness choice, with more intensity.

“Health and physical fitness is something these students can use the rest of their lives, and along with that we’re adding a component in dealing with stress and mental health,” Messerole said. “I think it will be successful and will help all of our programs.”

Steve Shantz, Spanish teacher certified in PE and contracted to operate the current weight training program before school and during the summer, told the students in the Feb. 6 assembly that it is not a new idea.

“We’ve been trying to make this work for about five years, and finally with the help of coach Carter and our administrators and coaches, we’re able to offer this in the morning at school and give you credit for it,” Shantz said. “You can get it done in the morning so there is plenty of recovery time for your practice in the afternoon.”

Abbreviated versions will be in the program for those students on game days, or the day prior to competition. Working out at other facilities is considered supplemental, and not in place of the school program.

At the presentation to students in February, assistant principal and activities director Scott Driskell noted the success of teams such as the state semifinal football team and dual state champion wrestling team could be more prevalent throughout the athletic program as a result of this streamlined training program.

“We want to get to the expectation of playing at state events every season,” Driskell said. “Many of our competitors are already doing this. The best part of this is, it will get you there and it’s not coming in at 5:30 in the morning or staying until 6 o’clock at night. It’s a class that’s part of your schedule.”