ESHS Athletic Development Program in full swing

It’s summertime and school is out, but that’s not enough to stop Tiger athletes from getting up early, going to the high school and working out in the weight room.  The Excelsior Springs High School Tiger football team is hitting the gym at 7:30 a.m. these days, participating in an athletic development program (ADP) to help create better overall athletes within the district.

“It seemed, for a while, that other schools were passing the Tigers by, but with implementing the ADP, that seems to be changing quickly,” said Tiger football coach Andy Sims.  The program, Sims explained, focuses on flexibility, strength and speed training for high school athletes.

“The key is to produce athletes during the day in the school year and during summer months,” Sims continued.  “It seems as though the weight room is the glue that holds all of that together.”  On any given morning the football team and other ESHS athletes can be found in the weight room with the music cranked and a number of coaches pushing them along, helping create an atmosphere for the athletes to excel.

The Excelsior Springs Performance Team actually participated in their very first Power Meet in the school’s history at Kearney High School and walked away with third place, Sims said.

“This was actually something I wanted to do the first year I was coaching at ESHS but I didn’t feel like we were ready yet,” said Sims.  “When I got here two years ago there really wasn’t much emphasis on overall athletic development.  There were a few dedicated kids and coaches here and there, but not as an overall group.”

“We really wanted to change that and are still working hard on the buy-in from all sports, but the athletes that have committed themselves to ADP have been seeing some amazing results and this performance meet was a great indicator of their hard work and dedication.”

For more on this story, see the print edition or e-Edition of the Friday, June 8, Standard.

By Jae Juarez • jae@leaderpress.com

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