Trenton High School football coach Kevin Hixson walked across the field at C.F. Russell Stadium sporting a new haircut on Monday. Like many Americans during quarantine, Hixson took matters into his own hands when barbershops across the nation were forced to close their doors.
With a shaved head, Hixson emerged from quarantine. On Monday, THS athletics came out of quarantine as well.
For the first time since spring sports practices were halted in mid-March, organized activities for student athletes were held in the form of workouts at the stadium.
“It’s good to see (the student-athletes),” Hixson said. “We haven’t seen them in a couple of months, you know. I told them we’re not going to get into shape today, but we are on the road.”
Workouts ran from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day this week and will continue to do so through the rest of the month. Groups of 10 or fewer gathered for the 30- to 45-minute workouts, which were scheduled hourly to avoid crossover between groups. All workouts are being held outdoors at the stadium with no shared equipment being used.
The sessions are the first phase in bringing sports back at Trenton. The school’s goal is to begin sport-specific activities in July.
“We just want to watch them progress,” Hixson said. “We will be able to be out here for a few weeks and then, hopefully, get in the weight room as the summer progresses. We just want to watch them get better and better.”
In April, the Missouri State High School Activities Association waived its summer rules limiting days of contact between coaches and athletes and waived the traditional dead period in which athletes were not allowed to be in contact with any coach or use school facilities. Students may be in contact with coaches all summer this year, in response to the coronavirus cancelling the spring sports season.
According to Trenton athletic director John Cowling, over 100 students signed up for the workouts in grades 7-12 combined. Sport specific activities are tentatively scheduled to begin at Trenton on July 6.