Seymour seniors Matthew Moore and Jayden Brown enjoyed spending last week after school competing in the Victory Field Challenge.
This was the fourth year both baseball players have participated in the challenge, and head coach Jeremy Richey said this was the ninth year for the event.
Richey said he changed the schedule this year from past challenges.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
“We just combined and changed some days,” he said. “Our Monday is pretty standard because that is our day in the weight room, and we’re pretty limited in there. We worked them pretty good the first four days. I think we get better every year because we get more creative with things. The other thing that makes it better is the kids’ attitude, effort and enthusiasm.”
New this year was a plate hold, where players held a weight in front of them for a certain amount of time. The players also competed in new events at CrossFit Seymour on Thursday.
Moore, who has pitched and played shortstop for the Owls, lifted 150 pounds 45 times in the box squat exercise.
“I liked to see that,” he said of his performance in that event.
“My favorite event is probably bench. I’m most successful at that,” Moore said. “I love lifting. I incorporate it in my life every day. I take a weight class here at the high school. “
He said the pitching rubber push was really hard.
“It makes you see what you’re made of, you and your teammates,” he said.
The 32 members of the team also did tire flips and a tire carry on the soccer field Tuesday and swam in the pool Wednesday.
“It tests your skill and makes you really impose what you want to do, your will,” said Moore, a team captain. “It makes you push your teammates because you don’t want your group to fail. I think it’s a huge goal to be successful not only in this but on the baseball field, as well. You’ve got to have your leaders, guys that will step up and do what’s asked and a little bit more.”
He said last week brought the team together and prepared them for the season.
“It builds our camaraderie as a team, and come sectional time on the field, we’re going to fight for each other the same way we do this week,” he said.
Brown said he likes the competition involved in the Victory Field Challenge.
“Some guys are good in the weight room. Some guys are good runners. I just like the different types of competition,” he said.
He said his favorite event is swimming in the pool. Richey said swimming coach Dave Boggs did a great job of adding some different activities to that day.
“That was a great day,” Richey said. “We started off with a biggest splash. One of our guys did a huge bellyflop, and the kids went nuts.”
Brown, who pitches and plays in the outfield, agreed with Moore that moving the pitching rubber was one of the toughest events.
“The different events target a lot of muscle groups, your legs and upper body,” he said. “You’ve got to prepare mentally. That’s a big part of it. This week brings everybody together, some of the younger guys. We work with the older guys getting ready for the season. It’s always nice to be out here with my friends getting outside.”
The athletes were divided into eight four-member teams.
“The team run was a mile and a half, but you have to stay within an arm’s length of your slowest runner, so it kind of motivates the slowest runner,” Richey said. “The other guys can’t go more than an arm’s length away, so we try to make it difficult when those situations come up. We think it’s important enough to put them in situations where they’re not comfortable and get them used to being uncomfortable and performing well.”
He said the goal is to make the players do very difficult things, but they are going to have the recovery time, so the next time they have to do something, they are going to be physically ready.
“It’s like a baseball game,” he said. “We’re not out there running and doing things for two hours straight. If I can get you to perform your best for 15 seconds straight, you’re going to get a break after every 15 seconds, and 15 seconds is the longest play you’re going to get in a baseball game, so you’re going to have time to recover and redirect your attention.
“That is what this is about,” he said. “It’s not just out there trying to make every kid miserable. It is a very challenging thing, and at the end of it, when you’re physically tired, we’re going to throw some mental competitions at you and make you have to think when you don’t feel very good.”