PREPARING FOR CHALLENGE AHEAD

With their Summer Strength, Conditioning & Skills Camp, Meridian Yellowjackets & Lady Jackets “win the day” with hard work in summer heat anticipating move back up to Class 2A

After enjoying success in a number of sports during the 2023-24 school year, the Meridian boys and girls athletes have been braving the summer heat to work hard toward building up to higher ground. By moving back up to Class 2A, Division II in all sports with the UIL realignment in February, the Yellowjackets and Lady Jackets have been preparing for the challenges that lie ahead.

For all Meridian ISD incoming seventh-12th graders, Summer Strength, Conditioning & Skills Camp began June 3 with athletes reporting to the Yellowjacket Gymnasium at 9 a.m. with the expectation to “win the day.” After completing the third week of camp before the Fourth of July holiday week, Meridian athletes resumed camp for four more weeks on July 8.

Quoting NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice, Meridian coaches encourage their athletes by echoing these words: “Today, I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow, I can accomplish what others can’t.”

“Workouts have been great,” Meridian athletic director and football head coach Jim Kerbow said. “The athletes that are participating have accomplished a lot. Our attendance numbers for our girls program and junior high boys have been great. We would have liked to have seen more boys participate, especially at the high school level.

“With the UIL allowing us to have skill days, we have had many of our athletes make a lot of progress in their fundamentals in volleyball, football, basketball and cross country over the past four weeks.”

Each day, camp begins with strength, speed and conditioning from 9-10 a.m. before moving into an hour-long session focusing on sport-specific skills, which includes cross country, volleyball, football and basketball. Meridian will wrap up the Summer Strength & Conditioning program on Aug. 1.

Football can hold its first day of conditioning with no contact activities permitted on Aug. 5, with no contact equipment except helmets being worn. Likewise, volleyball can issue equipment and conduct workouts beginning Aug. 5.

Looking for their first playoff appearance since 2017, Meridian has shown marked improvement over the last two seasons and will have a wealth of experience returning for the upcoming 2024 season. As a part of the eight-team District 10-2A, Division II, the Jackets line up against the fourth-ranked Mart Panthers, sixth-ranked Bremond Tigers, 11th-ranked Chilton Pirates, Goldthwaite Eagles, Wortham Bulldogs, Frost Polar Bears and Hubbard Jaguars.

“Our kids have worked extremely hard and have improved tremendously over the past two years,” Kerbow said. “Therefore, our kids will be up for the challenge. Right now, the biggest challenge we face is overcoming the naysayers that continue to tell our kids they can’t compete. So, I would like to challenge everyone to be positive with our athletes and encourage them to go out and fight, no matter the opponent.

“The reality of it is that we have the opportunity to win more games than we have won in the past 15 years. But we cannot do it without the support of our community.”

With less than a month left before the first day to work out for the 2024 Texas high school football season, Kerbow and the Jackets still have plenty to accomplish in these last four weeks of Summer Strength, Conditioning and Skills workouts.

“In the next few weeks, we hope to increase our numbers so that we can be ready mentally and physically for the upcoming seasons,” Kerbow said. “So far, the response has been great. We have seen several athletes improve tremendously through the month of June.”