Sean Partridge has noticed a difference in the Emporia State weight room since last summer.
The place seems to be a lot more crowded. Not that he’s complaining.
“It brings us together in here,” the ESU wide receiver said, looking around the walls of the weight room. “Everyone feels like they’re doing something that other teams aren’t doing.”
Now, the question is whether the results will follow.
Around 70 players have attended voluntary summer workouts, and 55 to 60 have come regularly, an increase of about 15 to 20 athletes from a year ago.
Those numbers especially have benefited ESU strength and conditioning coach Danny Cavender, who said only around 30 athletes stayed over the break during his first season as an assistant in 2003.
“If you want to be competitive,” Cavender said, “realistically this is what you’ve got to do.”
During summer workouts, athletes lift four days a week and participate in 7-on-7 scrimmages twice a week. In many cases, the coaches help players find summer jobs.
The increase in coach Garin Higgins’ first year can partly be contributed to experience. ESU returns a large number of upperclassmen to this year’s roster.
Emporia senior Luke Costello said he had seen a steady increase in the program in each of the last three summers.
“When we were a young team, it was different,” Costello said, “but now that we’re older, everyone knows what it takes.”
Cavender also has been impressed with the number of freshmen that have decided to take part in the summer session. Five freshmen came this year to get a headstart on the season, which Cavender said “usually doesn’t happen.”
The obvious benefit is adding muscle, however, another advantage of the training is to give teammates a chance to stay around each other.
“In summer workouts, everyone is behind someone else,” Costello said. “It definitely gets you in shape to play, but lifting as a group brings the team together.”
“We go out places together and hang out a lot,” Partridge said. “During the summer, we’re all we’ve got.”
The high offseason participation comes from an ESU team last year that narrowly missed out on victories.
Though the Hornets went 3-8, five of the losses were by four points or less.
“We’re consistently preaching the small things, the little things,” Cavender said. “The last couple years, it’s cost us.”
Cavender’s hope is that this “small thing” will help put ESU over the top this year.
“Eventually,” Cavender said, “this stuff is going to pay off.”