The heat may be sti?ing, the humidity thick, but no one on the Hays or Lehman football teams complains.
After a nearly three-month wait, football is back.
While both teams had to wait a week – UIL rules delay the start for teams participating in spring football to Aug. 12 – players and coaches were eager to hit the ground running.
LEHMAN
As the sun rose on Lobo Field Monday morning, the quiet atmosphere was broken by the sounds of alternative rock.
The Lobo coaching staff had music to accompany the practice. It helped fuel the excited, raucous screams of the football players.
A new day had dawned – football was back. Coaches gathered the players in columns, clapping and yelling, setting the mood for practice.
The message they conveyed was the same: Things are going to be different this year.
Safe to say, spirit and enthusiasm were high for the Lehman Lobos in the ?rst fall practice of 2013.
After going through a successful spring football campaign, the Lehman coaching staff was eager to continue the trend.
“We retained a lot from spring ball,” Lehman head coach Todd Raymond said. “We jumped into a team setting on offense right off the bat. We did that to set the tempo, as well as see what we retained.”
For Raymond, now entering his second year, he aimed to see three speci?c elements from his team: enthusiasm, energy and a faster pace.
The staff also hopes to develop technique prior to full contact drills, which begin on Aug. 16.
“The most important thing is effort and practice,” Raymond said. “The other stuff will come along. It is more about learning techniques, and more of, ‘how to do things.’”
The lead up to fall practice was a nerve-racking one for the Lobos head coach. Making sure to organize much of the administrative work was key. So also was the ability to get away from the game with family, in order to refresh the mind before the season starts.
Ultimately, Raymond was glad to get the ?rst day under his belt.
“To get through the first initial day, to get out here and start to [play] football is awesome,” Raymond said. “I can stop worrying about other things.”
Equally prepared to get the first day under their belt was wide receiver Kelton Powell. His efforts on the first day, which included an acrobatic snag during passing drills, proved how revved up he was.
“I was so excited [Monday] morning,” Powell said. “I woke up screaming, I woke up the whole house, including my dog, I was that happy.”
Senior Paul Matthews now eyes the day full contact begins.
“I’m ready to get my pads on, but I don’t get those for the next few days,” he said.
The Lobos now look forward to progressing as a team. The ultimate goal: the first playoff berth in program history.
“It is fun getting back with the team,” Powell said. “[We are] working hard and pretty much doing what we love and taking the next step to making the playoffs.”
Fans will get to see the Lobos in action at the Blue & Silver Kickoff at 6 p.m. Aug. 17.
HAYS
They practice on well-maintained grassy ?elds behind the high school. Once upon a time, pastureland dominated the scene.
But don’t let the quiet nature fool you. If you listen, you can hear the shrill buzz of the coaches’ whistles, which means fall football practice is in full swing for the Hays Rebels.
And while the team has a new captain at the helm, Neal La Hue’s desire to succeed ?ts right in with the Rebel philosophy.
“We want to compete at a high level. I also want these guys to come together as a team,” La Hue said. “Hays has a rich tradition and we have high expectations. That’s the way we’re training them and that’s the way we’re working at this point.”
La Hue admitted some anxiety about the start of practice.
However, anxiety gives way to reality: the season starts in roughly three weeks. The need to put La Hue’s game plan and strategies in place is the focus.
Helping the cause was the spring football season. The process aided players in getting the speci?cs down; more work is needed to perfect it.
“[The new system] is dif?cult, but spring ball helped us a lot,” quarterback Jeff Jordan said. “Summer practice is refreshing my mind; it’s helped us get back on track.”
The ?rst couple of practices have sped the process along. La Hue is pleased with what he has seen.
“[The kids] are a little sore…but they are working through it,” he said. “I’m excited about their attitude at his point. They have to work hard and do the right things.”
Jordan said getting back to work was dif?cult.
“Practice is tough, but we’ve been getting through it,” Jordan said. “Practice makes perfect, so day by day we make everything better.
Mistakes make us better.”
As the players remind themselves of wind sprints and play calls, the excitement of the moment does not diminish.
“I had a smile on my face walking into practice on Monday,” offensive lineman Connor Lanfear said. “I hardly got any sleep the night before. I have never been so happy to hear my alarm. I was ready to get back to work.”
The goal of winning a third-straight district title is not far from the players’ minds – none more so than La Hue. He realizes the road to another playoff berth begins on the summer practice ? eld.
“We want to make playoffs and challenge for another district championship,” he said.
Now the work begins toward getting ready for the season.
“We are going to work out the kinks [in practice],” Lanfear said. “It is not going to be too long before we are a sound football team.”
