While the winter sports season has been put on hold, student-athletes at Lehighton Area High School have an opportunity to stay active during the downtime through the school’s partnership with sports medicine provider Lehigh Valley Health Network, which offers virtual sports performance classes.

“When we were looking at stuff we wanted to add to our new athletic training agreement, this was something we identified early that we knew we wanted to be included,” said Lehighton Director of Student Services and Facilities Planning Kyle Spotts. “We felt this would be a tremendous asset to our programs, and we are excited to see what could happen with this partnership.”

One of the many new protective mitigation efforts announced by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic last Thursday was that all sports at K-12 public schools, nonpublic schools, private schools and club, travel, recreational, intermural, and intramural sports are paused.

The news came as many teams across the state were prepared to begin the winter sports season the following day, with the new, limited-time mitigation orders taking effect at 12:01 a.m. Dec. 12, and remaining in effect until 8 a.m. Jan. 4, 2021.

With options limited, the chance to utilize the virtual classes is something that has come into play sooner than expected.

“The agreement was approved a few months ago, so we are finally getting to see some of the aspects of that in motion,” said Spotts. “Initially, we were hoping to have some in-person opportunities begin once we got back from Christmas Break, but given the shut down, it kind of sped up the process.”

Spotts noted that the classes were developed by LVHN. This week’s schedule offered metabolic conditioning on Monday and Thursday; online yoga Wednesday; and high-intensity interval training on Tuesday and Friday.

All classes were free for anyone to join with links and passwords provided.

“We expect and hope that our student-athletes take advantage of this, as it is a tremendous opportunity,” said Spotts. “The in-season coaches can use these classes to keep their kids active and engaged during the shut down. The coaches looking to develop offseason programs can talk with our sports performance coordinator and make a plan that fits their ideas.

“All of our coaches have been given the information so they can go through the head coach to become involved.”

It’s a unique opportunity for the school’s student-athletes, both past and present.

“Our sports performance coach is a Lehighton grad (Dan Knappenberger), so he’s very excited to be working with the kids and our school,” said Spotts. “A lot of our coaches have already spoke to him about their offseason plans, and they are excited about the opportunity. I am expecting our coaches and student-athletes to take advantage of this opportunity.”