by Ace K. and Clark C.

If you’ve ever walked past the football field at Alamo Heights Junior School, you might have noticed the football teams practicing. The thing is, not everyone plays football, so where’s the rest of the grade? They are in a program called off-season.

The students who sign up for athletics but aren’t playing a sport participate in off-season. Off-season is a program intended to help athletes get into better shape. AHJS off-season athlete Brooks Aduddell said, “It’s a chance to get better.”

The coaches for off-season are Coach Bond, Coach Wogstad, and Coach Wilson. When asked about them, Brooks commented that the coaches do a good job of running off-season. Almost everyone agrees that they wouldn’t want anybody else coaching them.

Students do many different workouts during off-season, and all of them are really helpful for strength and stamina. These include front squats, bench presses, sprints, and, probably the most hated workout, long-distance running, also known as cross-country.

Brooks agreed, stating, “My favorite day is probably getting to do the bench press, and my least favorite is probably the cross-country.” He takes pleasure in becoming a better athlete and enjoys almost all of the activities.

Off-season can also make you a better person. Watts Monteleone, another off-season athlete at AHJS, mentioned that he has learned a lot because of off-season. He further stated, “I’m really glad I did off-season because it’s a great opportunity to make friends.”

All things considered, off-season is a fantastic program that’s helping students become better people and better athletes. It’s a great program that should continue throughout the years.