Burnet boys make most of May and June

CAPTION: Shane Ikonen lifts weights high above his head as spotter Riley Howell is ready to assist.  Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro

Right before the Burnet Consolidated Independent School District athletic department took a mandatory one-week break issued by the University Interscholastic League, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Colton Brewer reflected on what has been a productive two months.

After all, the football players competed in lineman’s challenges and two 7-on-7 leagues while the boys basketball program participated in the Llano Summer League. Those activities, however, were at night.

During the mornings beginning in early June, the Bulldogs arrived at the Burnet Student Activity Center for strength and conditioning.

The work included lifting sessions in the weight room where the Bulldogs worked on a variety of different lifts for the upper and lower body, while coaches blew a whistle to keep them moving. Once they finished there, the Bulldogs then went to the football playing field of the facility for agility and conditioning training.

“Right now things are rolling and rocking,” Brewer said. “The kids do a lot.”

Little has changed in the last five years. When former football head coach Bryan Wood was hired in spring 2021, he and defensive coordinator Ben Speer, whom Brewer called Wood’s “right-hand man,” created and installed the summer strength-and-conditioning program.

“We’re five years into it,” the offensive coordinator said. “Coach Speer runs it the same way. We’re very much in sync.”

There’s little-to-no standing around. In the weight room, the Bulldogs hustle to the next station, usually with a partner who serves as a spotter. Then they switch. They stand in lines to do their agility and conditioning, but coaches don’t allow them to have more than a few seconds as they go at least 10 yards in every drill.

The athletes work up a sweat as they get their bodies in shape for what’s coming in August – full-on training for football.

Anywhere between 70-100 high school and around 35 middle school athletes attend.

“I think our coaches do a good job of showing our kids the value of good work,” Brewer said. “Our offseason is a grind and then our summer is an entire season of boot camp.”

Brewer noted there’s been 100 percent attendance or close to it, adding that some athletes have enjoyed family vacations, summer camps or are playing in a summer league, usually baseball.

“We know where our kids are,” he said. “We like to keep tabs on that and keep in touch with them over the summer.”

He credited the Bulldogs themselves for encouraging one another to participate.

“They’re doing a good job of keeping everyone together,” the coordinator said. “We had a really good two months of work. Hats off to the kids. They do a great job. It’s hard to keep the morale up, but they’re seeing the fruits of their labor.”

The Bulldogs will return at 8 a.m. Monday, July 7, for the final weeks of strength and conditioning.

CAPTION: Cohen Jorpeland is in the midst of a bench press workout while Peyton Lopez serves as the spotter. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro