Better catch on fast

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(Misty Watson/The Daily Citizen) Northwest Whitfield’s Jalen Lockett turns to catch a pass during the Bruins’ first official practice of the 2012 preseason Wednesday morning in Tunnel Hill.
(Misty Watson/The Daily Citizen) Southeast Whitfield’s Abram Stanley protects the ball as assistant coach Allen Jackson tries to strip it away during the Raiders’ afternoon drills at the school. Wednesday marked the start of the preseason for all GHSA football teams, although they will be limited to helmets for the first five days.

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July 25, 2012

Better catch on fast

Teams shift into ‘real football mode’ with opening dates just weeks away

By Devin Golden devingolden@daltoncitizen.com The Dalton Daily Citizen Wed Jul 25, 2012, 11:09 PM EDT

Editor’s note: This is the first of two early preseason reports on area high school football teams. Information on Christian Heritage, Dalton, Murray County and North Murray will be included in Friday’s edition of The Daily Citizen.

Day 1 of the 2012 preseason for Northwest Whitfield’s football team was not the first step coach Josh Robinson had hoped for.

At least it was the first day and not the last.

All local teams held their first official practices Wednesday as preseason football began throughout Georgia. Practices included just helmets and shorts, per GHSA rules, and will stay that way through the end of the month. On Aug. 1, the pads go on.

With the season beginning Aug. 24 for Dalton and Aug. 31 for the other six area teams, it would seem the players would be fired up to get to work.

Robinson didn’t see it from his bunch for most of the morning.

“We didn’t have the excitement we should’ve had,” he said after the two-hour practice. “First-day blues or whatever, but there’s no excuse for that.

“It’s time to get into real football mode.”

Like most teams, the Bruins were busy all summer long with offseason workouts, team camps and seven-on-seven competitions. But they hadn’t been together for several days prior to Wednesday.

“We’ve been on a five-day break,” senior cornerback Kaleb King said. “I’m sure everyone was just sitting around.”

Robinson was happy to see more intensity toward the end of the drills, which included a few basic offensive plays and special teams work. The Bruins coach said the work will build each day until the season opener Aug. 31 against Pepperell. Last season the Bruins finished 6-4.

“We just have to improve every day at what we’re doing,” Robinson said. “With no pads, we’re mostly working on where we’re supposed to be, like positioning and timing.”

Coahulla Creek

When the Colts take the field Aug. 31 versus Murray County, it won’t be at the tempo they are used to.

Helping his players get comfortable with increased game speed is coach Jared Hamlin’s biggest task this preseason.

Coahulla Creek is venturing into its first season at the varsity level after finishing 8-2 in 2011 playing a JV schedule. The second-year Colts got a taste of varsity teams and speed during The Daily Citizen’s Southeastern 7-on-7 Championship earlier this month.

But an appetizer does not prepare one for the main course.

“Try to create the speed and the intensity of what is going to happen on Friday night,” Hamlin said when asked what he will use this preseason for most. “When I say speed, I mean how fast the game moves, not the speed of players.”

How does he plan on re-creating something the players haven’t experienced before?

By making them as “uncomfortable” as possible during practice.

“You can scheme and do all those things all you want to, but it comes down to how fast we are playing and reacting to stuff and that makes a lot of difference,” Hamlin said. “If you can get into practicing and make a play at a fast tempo with distractions, when you get to the game, it slows down.”

Levi Wilson, a junior wide receiver and safety, said the message was clear.

“We need to do everything in a fast-paced motion,” he said, adding he is in the small group that will play both ways and have added responsibilities.

“Me and Erick (Dominguez) are the two safeties and we’ll have to play both ways. Not only (conditioning), we need to remember what we need to do on defense and offense.”

Southeast Whitfield

The Raiders are under new leadership at the head coach position.

Kevin Torres, a senior, thinks there’s still a void in leaders on the field.

After a 1-9 record in 2011, changes were made at Southeast, where David Crane is out and Sean Gray is in. Now Gray must move past the adjustment period with players getting used to a new coach and system, focusing on making things click before an Aug. 31 season opener against North Murray.

“We are just going to keep building on what we’ve already done (in spring and summer),” Gray said. “We need to keep building up our offense and defense.”

Torres, who can play defensive back, running back and receiver, said he’s happy with the Raiders’ new coaching staff. Now the most important thing is finding some teammates to lean on.

He threw his name out there, too.

“We need some leaders to step up,” he said, noting a lack of leadership has been a problem in years past. “I want to be the one to step up and help out.”

Some coaches use the first few practice days for conditioning, but Gray also wants the players to rely on this aspect more than other teams because there could be some players, like Torres, with added roles in 2012.

“We need to work on our conditioning,” he said. “We’re going to have some players playing both ways.”

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Better catch on fast

Teams shift into ‘real football mode’ with opening dates just weeks away

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