Put in your memory bank those days of sleeping late, going to the beach or hitting the roads for a summer vacation with the folks. This week marks the start of high school football training camp for several local schools.
At La Jolla Country Day School, Head Coach Jeff Hutzler and his staff welcome the Torreys to camp today, Aug. 10.
While some schools go with the traditional two-a-day practices, LJCD goes with one.
“We feel like we get more out of one long (four-hour) practice instead of the traditional two-a-days,” Hutzler said. “This is partly the case because LJCD kids don’t come from a neighborhood surrounding the school but from all over SD County, and also because I feel I get more out of the kids with one longer practice instead of two shorter ones. With two shorter practices, the team has to warm up twice, which I don’t feel is a great use of time.”
Hutzler and his staff were expecting just over 60 (62 to 64) kids out for today’s first session. This will be the largest team in school history. Last year’s team (10-2 record, Pacific League champions) of 48 players was the record number out.
“We are unexperienced at the QB and tailback position (last year’s starters at both positions graduated), so finding starters in those positions will be a big focus of camp,” Hutzler noted. “We are also installing a new 5-2 defense.”
Over at La Jolla High, Head Coach Dave Ponsford and the Vikings hit the ground running next Monday, Aug. 14, for the first of two-a-days. La Jolla went 6-6 a season ago.
“As far as how many kids coming out, we had a fair turnout in spring practice from a numbers standpoint,” Ponsford said. “We are expecting that the numbers will be down from past years. Our varsity looks like it will be 38 to 45. We had a good sign-up of freshmen, but we will just have to see who turns in paperwork and makes it through two-a-days. Most of our kids need to play both sides of the ball and special teams, so we have much teaching to do in a short amount of time.”
While getting work accomplished on the gridiron is the main focus for returnees, Ponsford hopes that a few nice surprises are in store for him and his coaching staff these next few weeks.
“For students new to our school, I hope they consider coming out,” he said. “My advice to them is they get their athletic packet filled out (at the La Jolla High Web site) and turned in, so they don’t miss any practices. It is important that they are there on Monday morning, with paperwork turned in, and ready to work.”
At The Bishop’s School, Mike David will be on the sidelines as head coach for his first season with the Knights.
As Bishop’s players take to the field over this next week for the first time this season, look for around 30 players on varsity and around 25 on the JV to suit up.
“Our goal is to make sure our players are totally prepared for the first game and are fundamentally sound,” David remarked. “Most of our players did a tremendous job during the summer workouts. Our two-a-day practices are not for the players to get in shape ” we expect them to be in shape.”
And as LJCD’s Hutzler notes most importantly, when asked if there are any surprises for the kids this week, “Our kids know what to expect,” Hutzler said. “They know they need to be there on August 10 ready to compete for a Pacific League championship.”
Ready or not, another season of gridiron action is kicking off.