Coaches say that if you sweat it out during training, you won’t have a hard time come game day. While there’s some truth to that, it fails to give athletes the motivation they need. Yes, winning should be enough motivation, but there’s something about training that athletes see it as a daunting task.
Train with a canine
Luis Escobar, the coach of St. Joseph High School’s Cross-Country team came up with a brilliant way to motivate his athletes. He gave them the best running partner anyone could ever ask for: dogs. Coach Escobar teamed up with Santa Barabara County Animal Shelter. He borrowed some of their dogs to join his athletes’ daily running routine.
The team liked the idea, and they enjoyed having the dogs with them as they went about their workout routine in the morning. The coach paired each athlete with a dog before sending them off to their miles-long run. The dogs enjoyed the view, being with their running partner, and meeting people along the way.
Fun run
The athletes and the dogs melted the hearts of the people who saw them. It was such an adorable sight; it even made some people pause sipping their morning coffee! Coach Escobar had a great time watching the athletes train with the dogs. Everyone’s energy was so positive; they completely forgot that they were training.
Coach Escobar plans on letting his kids run with the dogs again. Trainings are all about hard work, but that does not mean that it can’t be fun. The dogs were the perfect addition to his kids’ daily training. Their presence motivated the kids to push forth and enjoy the moment while running. Watch the video to see how the dogs and the athletes helped each other during training:
Got a pretty cool cross country team (& coach!). Taking dogs from the animal shelter on a Morning Jog! If you see a dog you like, go adopt!
Posted by St. Joseph Athletics on Thursday, August 4, 2016
Credits to St. Joseph Athletics
