Welcome to the new normal of high school football summer workouts.
"It's definitely a lot of work, it's definitely different but it's a first step forward and I'm glad we're taking that first step forward because it sure beats being home," Cougars head football coach Monte Gutowski said.
The Coronado Cougars are one of several local teams getting back to their grind, complete with daily temperature checks, masks, and a lot of social distancing.
"It's not an average regular connection that you're used to with all your guys and things like that so that is a little bit different," Gutowski said.
For a coaching staff at Coronado, it's a work in progress and each day brings new challenges as the school tries to get their kids into game shape while following all necessary health protocols during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I just tell them we're slow cooking them, we're smoking them you know," Gutowski said. "You hit them every 12 minutes or so each group, and that's it. It's fast and furious to get a lot of work in and it's better than nothing."
It's the first phase in CHSAA's safe restart plan, which defers to local school districts for supervision and the implementation of policies. Hopefully, it marks the beginning of a return to game action this fall. However, right now, it's about taking it one group session at a time.
"Definitely a positive and we need a lot of that right now and our kids are getting that for sure," Gutowski said. "I think we're all talking and making sure we're doing this right."
In a time of great unknown, these hour-long sessions have brought back some much-needed consistency for all associated with the program.
"Sports brings everyone together, and that's our kids, our coaches, parents, everyone in our community," Gutowski said. "I think it's a big deal that we need to be able to get back to doing these things."
