For the Oak Harbor High School baseball team, the seeds of success in spring are sewn in the winter.

About 20 Wildcats are meeting at Rep Fitness three times a week in preparation of the high school season, which begins the first week of March.

These offseason workouts aren’t about perfecting a swing and learning the proper grip to throw a slider. They’re all about developing the body — getting stronger and more explosive — to maximize the players’ baseball talents.

The Rep Fitness owners, Tyson VanDam and Kyle Isaacson, are also the Oak Harbor High School baseball coaches. They block out times on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays for the high school kids to work on their conditioning.

The athletes move through stations designed to improve strength and explosiveness.

“Strength is the key to success,” Isaacson said. “The workouts are designed to increase quickness and speed,” he added.

As a result, “arm strength has improved,” Isaacson said.

In addition to the athletes’ physical improvements, VanDam likes the maturity and leadership roles the students develop going through the workouts.

Isaacson added, “We gave them the opportunity to work with us outside of baseball and work on what Tyson and I do for a living. The kids bought in.”

VanDam and Isaacson also offer their services to other Oak Harbor High School athletes with a strength and intensity camp on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The OHHS weight room is open to students most of the year, but “kids are not offered professional training in sports-specific workouts,” Isaacson said.