NBA superstar Damian Lillard once said, “if you want to look good in front of thousands, you have to outwork thousands in front of nobody.” As the school year draws to a close and Pinewood athletics enters the offseason, the football team has begun their quiet preparation for the upcoming season. Athletic trainer Javier Margarito has started a new strength and conditioning program for the team and, by doing so, hopes to better prepare them for the upcoming season.

“The goal is to put in work now to build the athletes’ bodies over time,” Margarito said.

Junior Rohan Parasnis, who has attended these conditioning sessions throughout these past few weeks, agrees with Margarito’s goal of getting the team in shape.

“The goal of this program is to build our strength as we head into the football season,” Parasnis said. “This way, by the time we get to day one of practice, everyone is ready to go, and in good physical form.”

Besides the benefits of getting stronger, the program also provides an opportunity for the team to bond together and develop team chemistry. By going to conditionings together, Margarito believes that the team will mesh together and become a cohesive unit.

Another frequent participant of Margarito’s difficult strength practices, sophomore Arjun Ar, agrees both with the fact that being a part of the program is miserable and that the team bonds together. 

“I think the team chemistry has always been there and will just continue to grow as we continue to work together throughout the season and suffer together in conditioning,” Ari said.

The team, however, will take a heavy blow following the graduation of the class of 2023, losing four team members and three starters. Parasnis believes that the team will be ready to face the adversity with its large number of rising senior players 

“It will be tough, as [the seniors] meant so much to the team, both in how they played and in how they led us on and off the field,” Parasnis said. “However, we are fortunate to have a large senior class coming in – about seven or eight – so we will all step up into the leadership roles that we have to fill.”

Margarito believes that this newfound adversity will create new opportunities for the remaining team members, and looks forward to seeing the other athletes stepping up to replace the graduates. 

“This adversity is an opportunity for others to step up and showcase what they can contribute,” Margarito said. “[And to quote James Lane Allen], adversity does not build character, it reveals it.”