Coach Lukas Steenhoek and his Montezuma boys track team are trying to take the long view after losing their season to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I would just say that we are focusing on plowing through this and not getting caught up in negative thinking and despair,” the coach said.
“We want to be very responsible with how we behave, but everything will be OK and as coaches and teachers,we are trying to focus on putting forth positive vibes.”
Steenhoek said he was anticipating a total squad size between 12 and 15. “A couple basketball guys had yet to officially decide wether they were coming out, but we were likely to see numbers somewhere in that range,” he said.
“All of the seniors on the team were tremendous to have my first two years here,” said the coach. “They are a fun group, but they really know how to work hard when the time comes.”
“I saw them really grow in their leadership responsibilities, which is something I value. It was awesome as a coach to see that growth. I’ll certainly miss these guys. They were a great group of young men and we had a lot of fun together,” Steenhoek said.
“For the underclassmen, I think it’s important to remember that there are going to be a lot of people that don’t take advantage of this time,” the coach said.
“Those that do take advantage will be a big step ahead of everyone else. So, I’m really trying to encourage kids to keep working hard during this time. Keep your heads up and eyes forward! We’ll get through this and it will all be OK!”
Steenhoek said that during the off-season, “the team focused heavily on becoming stronger and so a lot of time was spent lifting weights. We also got chances to get in some solid work on the track, which was nice.”
“Many of our expectations were focused on improving week by week,” the coach said.
“Because of our lower numbers, we weren’t going to have chances to win a lot of meets, but we would have the chance to see a lot of guys improve, week to week, getting stronger, faster and more explosive,” Steenhoek said.