Points for creativity: Perkins' girls track team holds 'virtual' track meet

PERKINS TWP. — Perkins senior Olivia Howard raced her dad. Freshman Topanga Farlow participated in the inaugural milk jug toss and apple throw. Junior Kamryn Ohly's mother cheered from the bleachers at Margaretta High School (Margaretta's track is open to the community) as Ohly finished first in a one-runner race. Perkins girls' track team flashed its creativity on Saturday by competing in a virtual track meet. The Pirates were scheduled to compete in their first meet over the weekend before COVID-19 changed those plans. So Coach Amy Didion found a way to keep that competition alive while practicing social distancing. Didion declared the meet optional and said about half her team participated. Athletes were told to re-create between two and four events in which they typically compete. If they couldn't re-create an event exactly, Didion encouraged them take creative liberties. Instead of throwing a javelin, throw a stick. Instead of the shot put, try the brick put. Or the rock put. Whatever works. "I kind of had a brainstorm that we're doing everything else virtually, so why not have a virtual meet," Didion said. "It was a lot of fun to see how creative they got. I was really pleased with how it went for the first time." To record results, the Pirates sent times, distances, photos and video to Team Reach, an app that Perkins strength coach Maddy Mullins says many Pirates teams are using during the no-contact period that began two weeks ago. In the app, coaches can create different workout plans based on athletes' individual needs. Mullins splits Didion's track team into groups like sprinters, distance runners and hurdlers. Then she creates a plan for each group. Mullins said the Pirates can achieve the same weight-training progress at home that they would in Perkins' weight room as long as they have dumbbells or a barbell. But the true value of Team Reach lies in it its ability to keep teammates connected. "It's just a way to keep team unity and encourage each other through this kind of weird time that everybody's going through," Mullins said. "I've really enjoyed seeing it evolve." Mullins, a 2013 Perkins graduate, started working as Perkins' strength coach last April. She was catching up with a school administrator she knew when they asked what she did. She said she worked for T3 Performance. Soon, she was applying her physical-training skills to Perkins athletes. Mullins takes pride in helping her school through a difficult time, even if it means her career is taking a turn she never anticipated. "I never expected to be sitting at home training people online, technically," Mullins said. "But it is what it is, and I'm taking advantage of it and making the most of the opportunity." The Pirates track team is following Mullins' lead. In addition to the virtual meet, athletes are showing creativity in their training. Not everyone has workout equipment at home, but they're finding other ways to simulate weight training. Some use overfilled backpacks or duffel bags as weights. Others fill water jugs. Then there's sophomore Bella Lesch, who sent Didion a video in which Leach performed squats with her eighth-grade brother on her shoulders. "I think we're trying to give them as much similar to what they've done in the past," Didion said. "But how they do it is their own unique thing." Didion hopes the Pirates' creativity will pay off if/when (Didion used the word "when") the Pirates restart their season. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is scheduled to re-evaluate the statewide school shutdown this week. The Pirates finished one point behind first-place Margaretta at last year's SBC Championships. That one point was driving them through this year's abnormally long preseason (the OHSAA allowed spring sports to practice two weeks early this season). The athletes' drive for a title — along with many other aspects of their lives — has been on pause as Ohio battles a world health crisis. But Saturday's virtual meet provided a distraction from the stressful uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus. Even if that's all it did, Didion considers it a success. "Hopefully it at least gave them some comic relief or some family time memories or something along that line," Didion said. "I know it's not the real thing, but if it makes people stop worrying about things for a few minutes and kind of brings us together, that was the whole point of it."