Silver and blue jerseys are hung in the lockers of CP football players as they transfer to a new stage: off-season football. 

Despite the off-season and prevalent pandemic, College Park football players are hard at work preparing for next season’s games.

“Right now we are just in off-season lifting and running most of the week so we can become stronger and faster,” junior Chance Jackson said. “There aren’t really any specific events that we are working for besides spring football here in a few months, so mostly all we are doing now is weight training and working on our conditioning and speed.”

Because football games are on hold, players can choose to practice other sports while also training for next football seasons.

“After school a lot of us go to run track or do a second sport then we come back in and get another football workout in,” sophomore Connor Ritter said. “I currently do the football workout during school and after school then I have powerlifting practice and track/field practice to help get faster and stronger for spring football and for next season.”

Around maximum lifts in March comes Boot Camp. Full of weight-bearing and resistance exercises, this week bonds the team just in time for spring.  

“For Boot Camp, we do a week of hard core conditioning drills to get us into good shape,” Jackson said. “It usually consists of tire flips, cone flips, races, and competition to help strengthen our bond as a team and to be able to work together. It’s just a lot of get-after-it exercises to put us to the test and to get us better for spring ball soon after.”

Since COVID, with the constant use of equipment in the weight room and small space to work out, the coaches and team have to take certain precautions to stay safe. 

“The coaches are doing a very good job of making us social distance and keep our mask up while we are working out and spraying the weights when we change stations,” freshman Jessie Cochran said. 

Also with COVID, scouting looks a little different this year. Since scouts and reps can’t visit schools or promising students, they are left to social media.

“Scouting is currently going on, and usually, on a normal day college coaches would be stopping by the school to watch us lift, but because of COVID most coaches use social media to reach out to potential prospects” senior Nicholas Vetere said.

Seniors take a break from football as some transition into playing the sport in college. A few athletes have already committed to schools like Wake Forest University, The Colorado School of Mines, and The University of The Incarnate Word.  

“Being able to commit to a power five college team for football is so surreal,” senior Dylan Hazen said. “I’ll miss the relationships that I have built over the years with all my teammates, coaches and trainers. They have all made an incredibly big impact on me and I will forever be thankful for them.”