Die-hard Liberty swimmers Seth Coleman and Morgan Muller are two of the many Hurricanes seizing the opportunity to participate in virtual strength and conditioning training this winter.

“I am grateful we have something, anything at all,” said Coleman, a senior. “It’s nowhere near being in the weight room, but it’s way more beneficial than I thought.”

Muller, a sophomore, has a membership to the Bethlehem Township Community Center that kept her in a swimming pool during Bethlehem Area School District’s suspension of winter sports, but that closed three weeks ago.

“The past month or two has been a little difficult since swimming is my favorite sport, and I didn’t have a full soccer season,” she said.

Liberty’s swim team had four practices in November when the school district shut down its sports. Then the East Penn Conference suspended its winter sports season, followed by Gov. Tom Wolf’s suspension of the same.

“Everything was very sudden,” said Muller, who expects to swim the 100 breaststroke and the 200 medley relay this year. “Obviously, I would rather [the training] be in person.”

Coleman will swim the 100 butterfly and the 500 freestyle.

Adam Sankovsky, Liberty’s strength and conditioning coach, starts the swimmers’ virtual workout with a cardio warm-up, followed by push-ups, situps, and kettlebell-type exercises using backpacks filled with books.

Said Muller, “At the end, we do four increments of shuttles, running back and forth.”

Liberty swim coach Reik Foust is involved too, texting his Hurricanes often and making sure they’re interacting.

“I’m just happier when I’m swimming and part of the team,” Coleman said, “but this gives me a feeling of improvement, and I think it’ll be better coming in, being able to get back to technique, and practice better.”