At some point, next season will ask what you did last summer.

Pendleton Heights strength coach Jed Richman is dedicated to making sure Pendleton Heights athletes have the right answer to that question.

Richman — who is entering his fourth season in his role as the school’s first full-time strength coach and also serves as head football coach at Pendleton Heights — wanted to create a program for June and July that prepares all Arabian athletes for the rigors of competition, regardless of their sport.

The largest group of athletes in the program are the members of the football program, but athletes from almost every Pendleton Heights athletic program are involved.

The idea of engaging with Arabian athletes during the summer was a vision that Richman brought with him when he joined the Arabian teaching and coaching staff from Lawrence Central High School four years ago.

Any concerns about whether a voluntary summer workout program, especially one that featured a 6:30 a.m. start time, could draw large numbers were quickly put to rest.

The program now features two morning sessions. In addition to the 6:30 a.m. session, a second group kicks off at 9:30 a.m.

A recent Monday morning sessions had more than 125 athletes in each.

The success of the program also led to an evening program for students in incoming fifth- to eighth-grades based on the same principles of building strength and flexibility.

That program now averages about 40 athletes per session.

In an era of sports specialization, the entire summer program stands as a counterpoint that emphasizes multi-sport participation.

This approach dovetails with Richman’s weight training program he has built during the school year.

His goal was to allow athletes to train for strength and flexibility during the school day, freeing them up to participate with other sports teams instead of using the offseason of their primary sport to train.

From the start, Richman has been an advocate of having students be a part of more than one sports program.

Arabians Athletic Director Chad Smith wholeheartedly supports that vision and has made Richman’s program the only offseason conditioning program for all Pendleton Heights athletic teams.

A second but equally important goal is to bring athletes from different teams together to build cohesion and camaraderie between the programs.

Seeing a Pendleton Heights cheerleader deadlifting next to an Arabian football player, and offering encouragement to each other, is evidence that goal has been achieved.

Coaches from the football program and other sports run the program. The program is free to South Madison students.

Middle school participants in the evening program must have a physical on file with the middle school athletic department.