After a summer of dedicating every morning to two or more hours of weight lifting with his team, senior Arthur Hall accomplished his goal of making varsity football.

Many other athletes showed their dedication and improvement this season, allowing them to make the jump from one level to another.

“I attended summer weights and only missed two days, so it was nice that all the hard work paid off,” Hall said.

Hall admitted waking up early and exercising for over two hours was not an easy accomplishment.

“It’s hard to be in the weight room at 7 a.m. for nine weeks when some of your buddies are sleeping in,” football coach Dirk Wedd said.

Hall made this sacrifice in honor of his senior year.

“I think just the whole aspect of [this] being my last year of playing football kind of got me more amped up,” Hall said. “I just felt like this is my team now.”

Sophomore Keeli Billings, who was also looking to improve this season, continued playing volleyball during her off-season — through the winter and summer. This led to her move from freshman team to JV.

“I wanted to be able to move up and show the coaches that I’ve improved,” Billings said.

Many cross country runners also worked during the off-season. These runners improved by conditioning during the summer, cross country coach Brian Anderson said.

“They faced heat and many miles of running with runners who are faster than them,” he said.

For most players, this transition required changes.

“[These runners] have improved their drive to excel and are more willing to get out of their comfort zone to achieve new goals,” Anderson said.

Other mental adjustments also had to be made.

“They all had to decide how badly they wanted to be LHS football players,” Wedd said.

Being on higher teams leads to a change in the level of competition players face. Along with this comes added difficulty.

“Varsity is a lot more pressure,” sophomore cross country runner Caitlin Lewis said. Lewis was mainly on JV last year, with a few varsity races later in the season. This year, she has already began qualifying for varsity races.

This pressure comes not only from coaches and fellow teammates, but from fans as well.

“You’ve got the crowd, which just adds a lot more adrenaline,” Hall said. “It’s a lot more fun to play in front of your friends.”

Hall would advise anyone looking to move up in teams to “Just keep working hard. Coaches will notice,” Hall said. “If you want a spot, go for it.”