FREDERICKTOWN — It is not unusual for NFL players to take ballet lessons. So there was a method to the madness when Fredericktown football coach Scott Spitler teamed with Lorraine Boss, owner of Step Into Fitness in Mount Vernon, to use yoga as a training tool for his team.
Spitler, who took Lucas to the state championship game during his 15-year tenure with the Cubs, led the Freddies to an 8-3 campaign last season. He saw the foundational benefits of Yoga after watching his son play the game.
“Actually, when my son was playing, I thought he was pretty rigid and robotic. So we got him turned on to yoga in his junior and senior years in high school,” the coach remembered.
Spitler thanks yoga for the success his son found in football.
“I think that (yoga) was a big piece to his being pliable and flexible and actually getting the right to play college football at Wittenberg,” Spitler said. “I don’t think he would have made it if he had not improved his flexibility.”
Boss, who volunteers her time every Wednesday to work with the Freddies, also noticed a correlation between lack of flexibility and injuries while watching her son.
“My son is a senior this year, and he was a member of the football team for a long, long time,” Boss said. “He is one of the reasons for doing it (volunteering), number one to give back.”
Workouts tailored to football
Spitler said he thought about introducing his team to yoga through simple observation.
“This first season, I just noticed some of the guys needed to get a little bit more flexible, and so I reached out to Lorraine Boss, who owns Step Into Fitness in Mount Vernon and Buckeye Stoved here in town,” he said. “She is a licensed yoga instructor.
“Her son obviously played for us. I reached out to see if she knew anybody who might want to volunteer their time, and she said ‘I’ll do it.’”
While yoga can be a whole-body workout, Boss tries to tailor the workouts to football.
“Of course, we work on core strength and balance. I love doing it, I love helping the kids,” Boss said. “We watch football at all levels, and see the beating the body takes. And there are so many injuries.
“There is no guarantee that there will be no injuries, but working on flexibility and football-specific muscles, hamstrings, the core, and those areas helps.”
‘Yoga is awesome’
So what do high school football players think about using yoga to improve their skills on the gridiron?
Twin brothers Karsyn and Kamdyn Clutter said they wanted to send a message: “We would like to thank Lorraine (Boss) for helping us with the yoga.”
Karsyn was candid about his thoughts.
“I thought it was a little weird at first, football players doing yoga,” he said, adding that after a couple of sessions, the benefits began to surface.
“It helps everyone become more flexible; it helps prevent injuries.”
Kamdyn also thought it odd for athletes to become contortionists on the yoga mat.
“After a few weeks waking up sore because you are using muscles you don’t normally use, it does really help with flexibility,” he said.
As to which is more difficult, traditional football practice or yoga, Karsyn said, “They are different, but yoga is just as difficult.”
Kamdyn said he noticed improvement right away.
“After a couple of weeks, you could really see the progress, just how much better you feel.”
The brothers agreed that they are glad they started yoga and said, “Yoga is awesome.”
Since the Ohio High School Athletic Association dictates that players may not report for officially sanctioned practice until Aug. 1, the Freddies that participate do so on a voluntary basis.
Still, Spitler is pleased with his team’s response.
“We have pretty good numbers, in the 20s most weeks. We have a third in track, a third playing baseball, and the rest here,” he said. “From yoga, right now we are doing an agility camp for our Willie Davis kids, our youth football program. Our kids are pretty dedicated.”
