Area football teams prepare for season with two-a-day practices

Fall sports are right around the corner and that means teams will be transitioning out of summer offseason activities and back into official practices.

That’s exactly what the Jacksboro Tigers, Bryson Cowboys and Perrin-Whitt Pirates kicked off with two-a-days.

All three schools kicked off their two-a-day practices Monday, Aug. 4, and will continue to practice on the two a day schedule until the start of the school year.

For each of these teams that means each day will bring a variety of routines for athletes, but mostly consisting of the same elements.

All of these schools will have official practice sessions where they will go over the fundamentals of their schemes and systems while also making time for gym training and conditioning. They will also go through film study sessions in order to figure out what are key ways to improve their games as they move towards official scrimmages and matches.

While all of these schools are at different stages in their football programs and have a variety of different goals, Tigers head coach Casey Hubble gave an overview of the feeling his team has going into two-a-days which can resonate with just about any club in the state, a feeling of excitement and anticipation.

“It’s an exciting time of year,” Hubble said. “New season, new expectations, a new team really. The guys are usually excited for what that looks like.

Others, like Cowboys head coach Kevin Ray, said that there is a different feeling to two a days then there are to other workouts and practice activities the team has participated in during the previous months.

“It’s real and it’s in season,” Ray said. “It’s more near term preparation for the real thing. In the offseason you can be more relaxed and working for the future, but right now you’re working for the now.”

Two-a-days also tend to be the first time in the offseason where the entire unit of the team is working together again in a complete way, whereas during the summer skill position players and lineman tend to stick to separate leagues like the linemen challenge for 7on7 leagues.

However, probably the biggest thing that returns in two-a-days is the level of physicality the sport is known for.  
This is the first time all summer that players across all three area clubs will get to strap the pads back on and test their metal against teammates in contact drills.

With this new element though comes an air of caution, coaches understand that while kids are excited to be playing regular season ball again, the level of physicality needs to be monitored and controlled in order to prevent any injuries from occurring before the start of the season.

“For the first five days you’re not allowed to have much physicality,” Pirates head coach Kevin Lloyd said. “They’re going to want to hit each other, so I just have to make sure to reign them in the first few days.”

No matter what way you slice it, the breeze of a new season is blowing and that means new expectations and hopes for all teams as they march toward the regular season.