After sweating for a while, Russell Christian Academy football coach Andy Braddock is happy to have a sense of normalcy again.

Yes, the Warriors are behind in their strength and conditioning as they gear up for the 2020 season, and safety guidelines to help against the spread of the coronavirus are forcing the coaches to run summer workouts differently than in years past. Still, it beats not having summer workouts and a canceled 2020 season.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced RCA to close its campus to students and cancel spring sports activities beginning in mid-March, and that included offseason workouts for the football team. The Alabama Independent School Association, by which RCA is governed as it pertains to athletics, allowed athletic activities to resume beginning June 1. Safety precautions have Braddock splitting his squad between weight room activities and conditioning work on the school’s practice field, and the varsity players only spend two hours a day working out on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays — one hour each lifting weights and doing conditioning drills.

It’s not ideal, but Braddock said everyone is adjusting to the new normal, and he’s pleased with how the players have responded so far.

“I hadn’t seen a lot of them since right before spring break, and being able to lift the restrictions enough to get out here and start working out, it’s awesome,” Braddock said. “It looks different, and I can’t get them all out here (on the practice field) at the same time, but we’re going to get there (conditioning-wise).”

Senior Destin Lea, who played running back and outside linebacker last fall, said some of the players were able to do private workouts during the coronavirus shutdown, which helped them from falling even further behind on conditioning.

“We’ve looked good after a few days,” Lea said. “We had a lot of guys out here working out during the (lockdown) when they didn’t have to be.”

Junior Kyle Ingram, who was at wide receiver and defensive end last season, said it felt good to be back amongst all of his teammates.

“It’s awesome,” Ingram said. “It’s good to see some friends that I haven’t seen in a while. Everyone is working hard, but the heat definitely gets to you.”

While it’s tough on the players right now, Braddock said he expects them to be caught up in their conditioning after a few weeks of organized workouts.

“Throughout the school year in seventh period, they’re all out here with me and constantly doing conditioning,” Braddock said. “When it gets time for summer workouts, they’re usually already in pretty good shape. Now, they’re a little more winded than they should have been. Two and a half months of not doing anything, they’re hurting right now. It’s going to take a couple of weeks to get through all the pain and soreness, and they ought to be at 100% by then. They’re giving it all they’ve got right now, but it’s tough on them right now.”

The Warriors are replacing seven seniors from last year’s state championship squad, and Braddock said this year’s team is showing good leadership qualities so far by dedicating themselves to getting in shape.

“They’re excited,” Braddock said. “Nothing is fun about this part of football, and really, nothing is fun about football apart from Friday nights, but getting up and being up here early in the morning three days a week and going through this, nobody is complaining. Leadership looks like it’s going to be great this year. They want to get stronger, and they know we lost a lot of talent this last year, so we have a lot of positions open. Actually, every position we have is open. Nobody has a position right now, and they’re all trying to earn a spot, and it starts right here with hard work.”

Lea said he and his teammates are taking a blue-collar approach to summer conditioning, the same approach they took last summer.

“They’re showing a lot of grit and a lot of want-to,” Lea said. “You always have to have that mentality in order to keep pushing.”

Said Ingram, “Size doesn’t matter when you have grit. When you have grit, you can compete with anyone.”

It’s not just a state championship that’s motivating the Warriors. Following the death of long-time RCA volunteer Lee Littrell last November, Ingram said the upcoming season has taken on an even deeper meaning.

“This year we’re determined to glorify God and Coach Lee every game,” Ingram said.