New Hope High School Football

St. Lucie County: Dawn of the new season for high school football

FORT PIERCE — Monday is the first day of practice for high school football teams — officially and technically, but not really.

"I think it's important to get off on the right foot," John Carroll coach Kevin Wald said of the first day of practice. "Monday sets the tone for the whole fall camp. You establish the rules and get good work habits established.

"But we've put a lot of time in this summer."

Teams throughout the Treasure Coast have been hard at work all summer doing everything but contract drills, which is prohibited by the Florida High School Athletic Association.

"Workouts are great and conditioning during the summer is big," Fort Pierce Westwood coach Gene Clemons said. "I think it's good for guys to play other sports. Personally, I believe that cross training and playing other sports is good. But once you get into summer time, unless you're a big-time basketball player playing AAU games, if you're a football player, your focus has to return to football and conditioning.

"Nothing else prepares you to take hits. The summer-time strength and conditioning is very important. You hope to have enough participation that you don't have to spend first week two weeks of practice conditioning."

Most teams met a minimum of four days a week since early June for condition and weight lifting programs, 7-on-7 passing games and tournaments as well as team camps.

"Physically, strength-wise and conditioning-wise, those are the No. 1 goals for the summer and we pretty much achieved that," St. Lucie West Centennial coach Ron Parker said. "We're in pretty good shape and well conditioned and that's the biggest thing heading into the season."

Treasure Coast had daily workouts as early as 5:30 a.m., but coach Irvin Jones said approximately 80 players showed up each morning. John Carroll practiced early in the morning four days a week — to avoid the heat and not present a conflict for players who had summer jobs.

Parker gave his players a summer schedule a month before the 2010-11 school year ended.

"We've been going four times a week starting June 13," Parker said. "I'm not happy unless everyone is there, but stuff happens and things happen and I understand that. But I keep telling them, 'If you don't come to practice, you're not going win.

"You have to be consistent.'"

First-year Fort Pierce Central coach Josh Shaffer said one of the biggest things the summer accomplishes is camaraderie between players and the coaching staff. Shaffer said Central got together approximately 40 times since the summer began, "creating a bond that can't be broken.

NHHS set to jam again - The Dispatch

Michael Bradley wants to make sure you highlight Aug. 13 on your calendar.

The New Hope High School football coach and five other local coaches will come together at Mississippi State's Davis Wade Stadium on that Saturday to provide one final appetizer before the start of the Mississippi High School Activities Association regular season.

The events will provide a tempting treat.

Two-time defending Class 5A champion West Point will kick off the five-game jamboree at 11 a.m. with a game against Louisville. Aberdeen will take on Morton at 1 p.m., followed by McComb vs. Starkville at 3 p.m., Noxubee County vs. Columbus at 5 p.m., and New Hope vs. Philadelphia at 7 p.m.

Each game will feature two quarters of varsity action and one quarter of junior varsity play, much like last year when New Hope helped organize the inaugural event.

Bradley, who is in his sixth season at New Hope, said the 2010 jamboree went "better than I would have hoped," and he expects for an even better showing this season.

"We learned a lot of things to do and not to do," Bradley said. "For example, we learned we didn't have near enough support personnel. We worked some folks harder than we should have, so this year we hope to have a greater number of parents and supporters help us make this as good an event as it can be."

Bradley praised the help of Mississippi State, which proved to be a generous host. He said he would like to hold the five-game event every year and will continue to help organize it as long as MSU will have the teams play at Davis Wade Stadium.

"We're looking for another outstanding Saturday of football," Bradley said.

New Hope, Columbus, Starkville, West Point, Noxubee County, and Philadelphia participated in the jamboree last year. Louisville, Morton, McComb, and Aberdeen replace West Lauderdale, Jackson Callaway, Brandon, and Itawamba Agricultural.

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