The Eagle’s football team has entered the off-season after a loss to Hutchinson in the section semifinals of the 2023 playoffs. They won six games, one being a tight 16-15 victory over St. Peter which marked their first playoff victory in decades. Now that the season has concluded, Head Coach Derek Leiser is looking to use the weight room to build his team ahead of the 2024 season.

Leiser has put a special emphasis on the weight room. “Many of the great teams, the teams that routinely make it to state, are some of the strongest teams in the state. They are constantly in the weight room, getting bigger, stronger, faster, and building chemistry with their teammates,” Leiser said.

These details are essential to building great football teams, and the program is trying to reach that status one step at a time, starting with after-school off-season lifting. These lifts go from 3:00 to 4:15, and all athletes are allowed to attend.

In previous years, New Ulm has had these off-season lifting programs, however, the turnout hasn’t been great. This year, it seems that even more athletes are attending these lifts. Newfound hope and recent success seemingly have drawn people into the hype and more people want to make the program better.

Junior linebacker Sam Ibberson has similar thoughts on the weight room. “It’s really important. being with my teammates, the players I go to war with every Friday, it’s huge for my personal success as well as the teams.”

With only having a few short years of high school sports, one might ask if that plays a role in how you prepare for games. “Absolutely it does. I only get a small amount of time, I have to be 100% ready to go for every game,” Sam said.