The group got its start by putting on conditioning sessions for Lacrosse players during their off-season, but has since evolved to encompass athletes of all sports.

“It’s majority Lacrosse guys, but this year I’ve had more non-Lacrosse guys,” Frankenheimer said. “Not a lot, some come one time and don’t come back, but more guys are trying it. So it has been more than just Lacrosse.”

According to Frankenheimer, having more non-Lacrosse players show up to the workouts has changed their format, but the workouts can be adjusted to be beneficial for everybody.

“I think [having guys outside of Lacrosse] changes the experience because sometimes I will incorporate sticks and gloves if I have the Lacrosse kids. If there are non-Lacrosse kids, sometimes we can still execute a drill or the conditioning component, they just do it without their sticks and gloves,” Frankenheimer said. “I don’t do a lot that’s Lacrosse specific, so it works if other kids come. If I do something Lacrosse specific, we figure out a way to make it work for the other guys.”

Although the workouts are generally focused on building stamina and improving conditioning, they vary from session to session.

“My philosophy is that I like to change it every time we get together. I write down my workout every week, I reference old ones, I write notes as to what was good, what was bad, what did they like what didn’t they like, because I feel like if I can mix it up each time, you’ll always tap into somebody,” Frankenheimer said. “Because everybody likes something different, and sometimes people are good at certain things and sometimes they aren’t good at certain things. So if I can mix it up, I’m sure that I’m hitting everybody on all of those marks.”

Frankenheimer says that although workouts can be very difficult, she tries her best to allow the athletes to have fun as well.

“The boys will tell you that I try to put in a fun component, because I think all work and no play can get hard,” she said. “So we’ll play some games, freeze tag, sharks and minnows, but they turn into 100 yard sprints and they don’t even realize that that’s what’s happening. I try to keep the fun alive as well as the work.”

The sessions are also well-attended and are held twice a week.

“We would probably have anywhere from 35 to 50 kids show up,” Frankenheimer said. “We typically get together two days a week, Wednesdays and Fridays.”

Frankenheimer had been involved with fitness training prior to the group at Malvern, teaching classes at ACAC and YMCA.

“So I currently teach at ACAC in West Chester, and I teach at the Upper Main Line Y in Berwyn,” she said. “I teach spin classes in both facilities and I teach body pump at both facilities.”

The program started when Lacrosse Head Coach Mr. John McEvoy reached out to Frankenheimer about holding sessions at Malvern.

“Coach McEvoy knew that I taught those classes elsewhere and honestly some moms had talked about having taken my class and they thought it would be cool, and he thought it would be a good use of my resource since I worked here,” Frankenheimer said.

Although she has taken on this additional role at Malvern, Frankenheimer still teaches classes at these other facilities.

“So I teach four classes a week in addition to what I do here full-time,” she said. “One of the cool things is that some of the athletes and students from here have started taking my classes at ACAC and the Y.”

Frankenheimer also says that the workouts help build team camaraderie.

“We feel like it builds culture. You build accountability. You see who’s working hard day in and day out, and then that translates into the game and onto the field,” Frankenheimer said. “You can see which guys are willing to go 110% and unfortunately sometimes you see which guys only show up on game day. I think that’s what separates a good team from a great team.”