John Raffel, jraffel@pioneergroup.com

Pine River coach Terry Martin supervises a conditioning workout last week. (Pioneer photo/John Raffel)

Pine River coach Terry Martin supervises a conditioning workout last week. (Pioneer photo/John Raffel)

Pine River coach Terry Martin supervises a conditioning workout last week. (Pioneer photo/John Raffel)

Pine River coach Terry Martin supervises a conditioning workout last week. (Pioneer photo/John Raffel)

Pine River coach likes progress team is making

LEROY - Pine River's Terry Martin is like a lot of football coaches, doing as much as he can under state guidelines when it comes to conditioning, and trying to get his team ready for the fall football season in case there is one.

Martin and his players were on the practice field late last week.The MHSAA said on Friday there are still plans for a season, but also contingency plans if necessary because of COVID 19.

"Were going Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays right now for an hour," Martin said recently at a conditioning session at the Pine River practice field. "In June, we went two days a week for three weeks and in July we'll go three days a week until the end of July. It's all high school players, nine through 12."

The Bucks had their first Thursday of conditioning with about 30 players. It's usually in the low 30s.

"Mainly we're doing conditioning and agilities," Martin said. "At first, we thought this would be a hindrance and disappointing but it's been really good. We've been able to focus on a lot of footwork and technique. The coaches are setting up cones and things they can move around. There's no contact. The quarterbacks throw the ball over the fence and then they have to go and get their own ball. There's no sharing of equipment or anything like that."

Pine River is in the Grand Rapids region, just a few miles south of the Traverse City region. The GR region has more restrictions on athletic programs currently than the TC region.

"Everyone to the north is a step ahead of us because they're allowed to do some work, go inside and use the weight room in small groups," Martin said. "At first, we thought this would be a drag, but it's worked out."

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Pine River coach likes progress team is making - The Herald Review