Nutrition & training power Peters Township safety during crisis
Donovon McMillon uses a plastic broom handle to affix his weights for a makeshift workout in preparation for the high school football season.
Canon-McMillan running back Ryan Angott straps a harness to his back to pull this 910-pound lawn roller around his family’s 13-acre property.
Whether or not a pandemic rages through the country, Donovan McMillon of Peters Township consumes nutritious meals as part of his preparation for the football season.
Noting his mother, Shelley, always makes him a “big breakfast”, McMillon gulps down six pieces of French toast. “She makes the best,” he said, then quickly adds “of course” maple syrup is an essential condiment.
Lunch today is a croissant with bacon coupled with a dish of apple sauce and a peach.
Dinner could be fish, maybe, cauliflower and broccoli for vegetables and as many as six biscuits.
Then there are snacks. “A bunch,” McMillon said with a large laugh. “I eat a ton of calories.”
McMillon after all is a growing teen. The 6-2, 185-pound junior is also a 4-star safety. He already has 47 major Division I scholarship offers.
While the coronavirus crisis is putting a damper on the recruiting process and his ability to visit college campuses, the COVID19 disease has not hindered his training.
Though he is unable to practice with teammates or visit the high school to use its extensive array of equipment and weights, McMillon has gotten creative with his workouts. He fills a duffle bag with books and does curls and pulls. He attaches 14.3-pound weights to an old plastic broom that he uses as a barbell.
“Trust me, I’m doing everything imaginable,” he said.
McMillon does 500 situps a day in sets of 50 to 75. He sets up cones outside and works on his footwork. He even employs his siblings, Darius, 13, Dane, 10, and Davin, 7.
“We are having fun with it,” McMillon said of his attempts to cover his brothers during defensive drills. “There’s nothing like running around chasing them. We are making it so that it’s fun.”
In reality, though, McMillon said, “I’m trying to stay as sharp as possible.”
McMillon attempts to make his workouts interesting by varying his training. He said that he does something different every day, including running or sprinting. He spends approximately three hours outside and does push-ups throughout the day.
“There’s no specific time and it’s not just one thing,” he said. “It varies.”
Since the start of the week, the schedule has changed. School, although online, is back in the mix. McMillon is now balancing the books with SAT preparation.
Wrestling is in the rearview mirror. Normally, he would also be practicing for big tournaments. A dual meet in May and an event in Virginia Beach have been canceled.
“While wrestling helps with football, it’s mostly in the back of my head because you have to do it with a partner,” explained McMillon, who finished 41-4 on the mats this winter. He was a WPIAL and PIAA state runner-up.
Hence the focus is on the fall and the gridiron.
McMillon is one of several veterans returning to a team that won a conference championship and reached the WPIAL Class 5A finals. He led the Indians with 84 tackles, including seven for losses. He forced four fumbles, one of which he returned for a touchdown, picked off two passes and recovered two fumbles.
McMillon is concerned because the PIAA ruled that no school athletic teams in the state can conduct workouts or informal practices before July 1. So there are no scheduled team weightlifting sessions or 7-on-7 scrimmages on the horizon.
“Summer is so important,” McMillon said. “I’m hoping we can get working as soon as possible.”
McMillon also hopes there are developments in the world’s battle with the coronavirus. He wishes there would be a vaccine soon.
“I’m hoping for the best. I’m hoping that we all stay healthy and that no one gets this.”
The quicker things return to normal, the sooner McMillon can make a decision regarding his college choice.
While he has already paid visits to places such as Pitt, Penn State, Virginia Tech and Purdue, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, LSU, Miami, Michigan, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas A&M,, WVU, Air Force, Army and Harvard are among some of the other major schools extending offers. McMillon plans to major in media editing design or perhaps education with the hopes of some day going into coaching like his father, Darrin.
“I need to get on campus and talk to even more people but with everything shut down I can’t visit,” he explained. He noted that all the prospective schools feature great campuses and employ great people. “It’s a hard decision.”
It’s also difficult to open up the country and ease up social distancing restraints. That leaves one to wonder how football even at the high school level will be played in September. In the next three months, McMillon hopes officials will find some way.
“It definitely is an upsetting time because this is our last season,” he said. “Staying busy is getting us through this time. We’re all hoping for the best.”
While the coronavirus pandemic has interrupted offseason workouts for football players, Canon-McMillan High School has found creative ways to train in lieu of going to the local gym or the high school weight room.
Take Ryan Angott for example. The Canonsburg resident has a bench press and dumbbells in his basement. However for a full-body workout, he straps himself to a harness that is connected to a 910-pound lawn roller that he pulls around his family’s 13-acre property.
“Whatever burns the muscles,” Angott said. “The first time I tried to pull it I couldn’t. I’ve been working out more than I usually do and have eventually gotten to the point of jogging and running with it.”
Angott was a big reason the C-M made the postseason for the second consecutive year in Class 6A of the WPIAL. The Canon-McMillan sophomore rushed for 896 yards and 8 touchdowns last fall. He earned second-team all-conference honors.
Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, Big Macs’ football coach Mike Evans invested in an app called TeamBuildr, a strength and conditioning software program that can be used with a cell phone. He recently sent out a Google survey to evaluate what equipment his players had available to help design workouts to both meet their needs and understand the current limitations.
“What we are trying to do is get the most out of their capability,” Evans said. “We have kids who have everything, kids that have some stuff and others that don’t have much. We are just trying to give our kids the best opportunities.”
By Luke Campbell