Sulphur Springs ISD’s The Edge conditioning program hit roughly the half way point after workouts Thursday morning (June 27). Three weeks are done with roughly three weeks to go. There will be no Edge on Tuesday, July 9 and Wednesday, July 10. Wildcats Football Coach and Athletic Director Greg Owens says these are UIL mandated dead days and no athletes are allowed at athletic facilities. That leaves ten days of The Edge left. Full weeks Monday through Thursday the weeks of July 1 and July 15 and workouts in between Monday, July 8 and Thursday, July 11. The Edge wraps up Thursday, July 18. Coach Owens says The Edge continues to be beneficial for those who are attending. With skills training going on in various sports, Coach Owens estimates that around 200 athletes are involved in boys and girls basketball, volleyball, boys and girls soccer, freshman football, varsity and JV football and middle school athletics. When Coach Owens gets frustrated by athletes not attending The Edge, he says Offensive Coordinator Matt Young reassures him by saying that those kids they are depending upon are here. Coach Owens says athletes attending The Edge are seeing results. He says The Edge workout enders, such as gassers, 80-yard runs and hill running at Coleman Lake, are being done much easier now than weeks ago. Coach Owens says The Edge includes old stuff his coaching staff has been doing for years along with ideas borrowed from Michael Johnson Performance last summer and new things brought in by Wildcats Defensive Coordinator Alex Guerra, who is into certified athletic training. Coach Owens says his staff also picked up some ideas from a speed and strength event at Baylor. He says The Edge concentrates on speed, agility and strength. Coach Owens says a big emphasis this year is on developing and athlete’s glutes and hamstrings.
