Speed and agility camp prepares Russellville athletes for fall sports

RUSSELLVILLE - While Sean Lovelace coaches the track team in the Spring, that doesn't stop him from preparing Russellville athletes for the Fall and Winter sports, too.

Lovelace held a speed and agility camp at Russellville High School last week, getting kids active and ready for the new school year.

"The main objective is really just getting kids ready for the upcoming school year and season," Lovelace said. "Getting everybody off the couches, on their feet and get them running."

The camp focuses on explosiveness and cutting, something that can be transferred to the baseball and softball field, as well as the basketball court. It also gives the track athletes that were present a taste of what they'll see in the weeks leading up to the track season, but he doesn't think this particular camp will translate into the the season.

According to Lovelace, approximately 75 percent of the athletes at the camp were not track athletes, and none of them were strictly there for track. He embraces the multi-sport mentally.

"(Track) is where my background is, so a lot it comes from there, but it's geared towards all of the sports," Lovelace said.

"This is not necessarily just for track. We have a lot of athletes at Russellville that are multi-sport athletes, so it'll transfer into those other sports and we'll work on this in the offseason with the track kids."

Obstacle courses, cone-work and other exercises made up most of the workouts at the camp, as Lovelace stressed the importance of explosiveness and agility. That's the idea he was looking for the kids to grasp.

"I'm just looking for them to get out and get some work in, and learning a little bit about how to move and cut," Lovelace said.