BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — While sports anchors and reporters adapt to this new way of covering sports stories, more drastically athletes have had to adapt during this time. So how are they keeping up with their training while not competing or practicing? Carr Elite's strength and conditioning coach Eric Mahanke answers that question while also adapting his practice as a personal trainer.
“We went through trying to minimize the numbers and then into one on ones. And now we're into full shutdown. So we're now transitioning to most of our online stuff. With all the technology that we have now and the way Instagram works and Twitter now, you can get so much information so quickly, so just make sure it is from a quality source," Mahanke said.
While Carr Elite and other facilities provide online training, Mahanke also advises how high school spring sport athletes can stay up to par while they wait to see if their season returns.
“When it comes to strength, you won't lose too much as a young athlete too soon when it comes to power, and that's being able to create that force to run faster. That goes pretty quick. So the good news is you can actually train that power daily and you really don't need a lot of equipment. So you definitely have to do something probably every day," Mahanke said.
As athletes adjust their training routines there still is positive in all of this especially for those on the verge of burning out.
“The way youth these sports structures set up right now, these poor kids are playing more than professional athletes and college athletes. And if there's a silver lining that we can take from this is these kids will be able to recover. They're gonna have to go make up their own play. We call it free play, which is awesome," Mahanke said. "Also, I just think their bodies will be able to recover and then they might be able to actually focus on strength training and maybe see how important that is to their game. If we’re in a quarantine long enough, there's probably most likely going to be less injuries because of this break that these kids are getting. And it's good family time."
If you're interested in following along with Carr Elite's training during this time you can check out information on the facility and its trainers at http://www.carrelitefootball.com/.
