Ready, Set, Practice

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Ready, set, practice!

Squads return to gridiron following summer break

Jason Rollinson

The Orange Leader

At midnight Monday morning, the University Interscholastic League officially allowed high school football practice, and several teams across the area got to work despite the rainy conditions and heat.

West Orange-Stark head coach Dan Hooks started his team out Monday morning by running the “Mustang Mile,†which featured 10 repetitions up and down the steps at the newly-named Dan R. Hooks Stadium. The team returned later Monday evening for an offensive and defensive team workout.

“The heat was brutal this morning (Monday),†said Hooks. “The kids ran 10 stands (up and down), which is worse than running a mile. Of course, we gave them 30 seconds rest in between. Conditioning is such a factor in a football game, especially with our limited depth. We’ll be having a lot of players going both ways.â€

Fresh in the minds of the Mustangs is the 52-29 loss to eventual state champion Wimberley in the Class 3A Division I State Semifinals. The loss resulted in the worst-ever in the school’s history.

“It’s a great feeling to return to the practice field,†said Hooks. “When we left off last year, we had just gotten blown out by Wimberley and it wasn’t a good feeling. The kids remember the game and are ready to get focused and play a little.â€

Hooks’ team is loaded with returning starters and is gearing up for a home scrimmage against Barbers Hill on Saturday, Aug. 19. The Mustangs will open up the 2006 season on the road at Dayton on Sept. 1 and will also play Little Cypress-Mauriceville and Bay City for its non-district contests.

“This is a tough time for us,†said Hooks. “There are no scrimmages or games for a couple of weeks. We’re just going to do our best until that time comes around.â€

WO-S will once again practice from 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday and split practices on Wednesday and Thursday before strapping the pads on Friday. After taking the team pictures, the Mustangs will have an interteam scrimmage at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

“When the pads come on Friday, then it’ll be football,†said Hooks. “Right now, it’s just like 7-on-7 football with the helmets and shorts. You’re always afraid that someone’s going to get hurt, but come Friday and Saturday, we’ll see who wants to play.â€

Meanwhile, down Highway 105 in Orangefield, the Bobcats are getting back to work after winning two of its last three games last season.

Head Coach Blake Morrison welcomes several new faces to his coaching staff as Josh Smalley moves over from Bridge City to become the team’s new offensive coordinator.

The Bobcats will work out Tuesday and Wednesday evenings before beginning school on Thursday.

“I’ve been anticipating this day for several months and it’s finally here,†said Morrison. “We’ve got our work cut out for us, but I have confidence in the kids to get it done.â€

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High School Football: Ready, sweat, go

By PERRYN KEYS, The Enterprise

08/08/2006

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Andrew Nenque/The Enterprise Hardin-Jefferson football players work on plyobox drills during the team’s first day of practice Monday at Hardin-Jefferson High School in Sour Lake. The drill provided conditioning and taught explosion techniques. Monday was the first day high school teams could practice

One player was doubled over, momentarily beaten by the heat and physical toll of his first day on the field. He was joined, shortly thereafter, by another. And another. And one more, for good measure.

At 9:57 a.m. in Vidor, with a few dozen of their closest friends looking on, four Pirates finished off their first football practice of the year in dramatic fashion.

They and their breakfast got a divorce.

Four players had just finished what the Pirates' coaching staff calls "gassers." Some coaches call them "suicides." Others simply call them wind sprints. They almost always come at the end of practice, and they're almost always rugged.

Most players understand the importance of them - it's all about conditioning, making sure you're ready for the fourth quarter of a game - but honestly, the players don't care what you call them, just as long as you call them off.

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"Atta boy," an assistant coach said Monday, watching one player's morning meal make a guest appearance.

Welcome to football season.

According to University Interscholastic League rules, Monday was the first day public schools could practice in preparation for football season, which for most teams begins Sept. 1.

UIL rules dictate that schools in the 4A and 5A classifications have the option to hold spring practice. If they do, however, they cannot begin fall practice until a week after everyone else.

Four area programs - Central, Memorial, Ozen and West Brook - decided to work during the spring. Their first practice is Aug. 14.

As for the others? Some of them got an early start. "I went to lay down in bed at about 9:30. Didn't get a whole lot of sleep," said Lumberton's first-year coach Alvin Credeur. "Woke up at 3 o'clock, got up and got going. I ate my Frosted Flakes, rolled out over here and checked the field to see how wet it was. Then it was go time."

The Raiders were on a slick, sloppy field before the sun came up Monday, starting their workout at 6 a.m.

Two hours later, when it ended, they were still full of energy, still vocal, still quick with a "yes, sir." Their second workout didn't start until 5 p.m., which gave them plenty of time to recharge.

The first day, however, is usually full of energy on any campus. Despite the gassers. After all, players everywhere are decked out only in helmets, T-shirts and shorts. The more demanding physical tests come later this week or early next week, when players have settled into shoulder pads, pants and the same routine.

In most school districts, classes start next week, which means players will practice just once a day instead of twice. Still, mental and physical fatigue can set in - even though underdogs like Lumberton can't afford to use that as an excuse.

After the Raiders staggered through an 0-8 record last season, they know well enough that talent alone won't win games in the new District 22-4A, which includes playoff-caliber teams such as Central, Ozen, Nederland and Port Neches-Groves.

Honestly, some of Lumberton's opponents look fast when they're standing still.

"In a week and a half, we expect them to still be fired up because that's the only opportunity we're going to have to win," Credeur said.

"We're going to have to do things right, to be self-motivated. They know what's at stake. I expect them to be just as fired up then. Obviously you're going to have soreness and things like that, which everybody experiences. But we have to overcome those things."

As morning crept toward noon Monday, most teams split their time between beating the heat and dodging raindrops. While the temperature never climbed above 94 degrees in Beaumont, the humidity level reached 90 percent at times.

The Pirates learned that from running gassers, not from looking it up online.

At Nederland, however, the practice fields were empty by 10:30 a.m. Up the road at Monsignor Kelly, players joyfully howled as they ran from station to station, most of them thoroughly soaked.

By 8:10 p.m. in Sour Lake, more than 100 players had sprinted across the practice fields at Hardin-Jefferson.

The moon was out, the campus was almost pitch-black and the grass was a little muddy. Only one day from the football season was over, and there were many more to go.

The players, of course, were a little tired.

Still, David Martel, the Hawks' second-year coach and a Hardin-Jefferson alumni himself, was happier than a hog in slop.

"The good thing is these kids - they do everything exactly the way it should be done, and I'm proud of them," Martel said. "They're learning to listen. If I let them down, it's going to be my fault."

[WOS95]

i saw the kids run stands yesterday. they all did a pretty good job. the stands were very slick yesterday because of the rain so they had to be careful. but everybody looked ready for football. 8)