Spring training thrills, chills Titan coaches

[KFDM COOP]

Spring training thrills, chills Titan coaches

Dave Rogers’ column for Thursday, Feb. 22

The Port Arthur News

Memorial High football assistants say this was the shortest spring training they’ve ever been involved with.

Starting Jan. 24 and ending Feb. 17, the Titans used only 10 of their allotted 18 days of full-contact practices.

But head coach Ronnie Thompson says it was perhaps the best he’s ever been a part of.

“We only had nine or 10 workouts, but every one was better than any one we had last spring,†said the coach who is just starting the second year of his second coaching tenure in Port Arthur.

“It was extremely well run and handled. It was always spirited and fast. We filmed what we did. We coached the film. We didn’t want to just beat them down. We went three days a week.

“It was a good tempo, one of the best I’ve been through in 34 years.â€

The coach said more than 100 players participated in each workout, including those bused to the campus from the Ninth Grade Center.

They practiced Monday, Wednesday and Thursday nights at Memorial Stadium. As opposed to when Memorial had held spring training in the past – late April and May – these drills took place in cold and often wet weather.

“We had to cancel one practice that we were in the middle of, because of lightning, and one that was just heavy rain and we didn’t want to just go slosh around,†Thompson said.

But the weather wasn’t a distraction.

“The kids retained a lot. The coaches knew what they were doing. It fell together quickly,†Thompson said. “Now we can spend the next three months coaching, rather than doing it the other way around. You have spring training at the end of May, you turn your gear in, take tests and leave.

“This way, we’ve got a chance to touch up what we saw.â€

Curtis Viola, the Titans’ new defensive coordinator, explained that the coming in-school athletic periods would focus on smoothing any rough edges.

“Basically, what we found out in spring is who can run and who can tackle. Now we’re going to spend the next few months making sure we do it right,†he said. “All we’ve done so far is find out which guys are going to hit and which ones can run. We have the rest of the year to fine-tune everything.â€

While Thompson and offensive coordinator Kenny Harrison looked to add on to the wide-open offense that carried Memorial to a tie for the District 21-5A championship last fall, Viola had the big job – a major overhaul of the troubled Titan defense.

[Mr. Buddy Garrity]

Its gonna be a very good year  ;D