Season Starts: Practice
We have ended the unpadded practices and are finally in the contact period, which is a relief to an old line coach like me. There's only so much throwing and catching I can take.
We are still quite high in numbers: we regularly run in the high fifties or low sixties, which sounds like an advantage but which has its downside. It is difficult bordering on impossible to make sure all players receive equal access to coaching while simultaneously preparing the team to succeed. The time will come and come soon when we will have to differentiate who is getting the reps and who isn't.
We're still waiting to fill some spots on the offensive line. We think we have three of them more or less figured out, but the other two are still open and so far no one has stood out head and shoulders above the rest to claim one of the remaining two.
Our skill positions are more or less as we left them in summer: we have not had many disappointments there. We have had a bit of a pleasant surprise in a new player on the defensive line: we may be fieldinging an unusually tough front four defensively if things work out.
It's been brutally hot out, which has taken a toll on the players. Monday begins our game week practice plan. We have ten real practices before our first scrimmage against Burroughs: we need to have a fully functiona offense, defense, and kicking game in place by then so we can tailor it to Lancaster in the following week.
We are still quite high in numbers: we regularly run in the high fifties or low sixties, which sounds like an advantage but which has its downside. It is difficult bordering on impossible to make sure all players receive equal access to coaching while simultaneously preparing the team to succeed. The time will come and come soon when we will have to differentiate who is getting the reps and who isn't.
We're still waiting to fill some spots on the offensive line. We think we have three of them more or less figured out, but the other two are still open and so far no one has stood out head and shoulders above the rest to claim one of the remaining two.
Our skill positions are more or less as we left them in summer: we have not had many disappointments there. We have had a bit of a pleasant surprise in a new player on the defensive line: we may be fieldinging an unusually tough front four defensively if things work out.
It's been brutally hot out, which has taken a toll on the players. Monday begins our game week practice plan. We have ten real practices before our first scrimmage against Burroughs: we need to have a fully functiona offense, defense, and kicking game in place by then so we can tailor it to Lancaster in the following week.
