Coach sees promise after the first week
MARBLE FALLS — Optimism reigns supreme at the Marble Falls High School field house.
The Mustangs ended the first week of two-a-days Friday by putting on full pads and going through hitting drills that included one-on-one, ball carriers following a blocker who was keeping a defender away, one-on-two blocking and linemen lining up in three-on-three drills.
Head coach Cord Woerner said the Mustangs have worked extremely hard and have shown a level of maturity that has made the first week go more smoothly.
First, 97 sophomores, juniors and seniors were present Monday with 46 freshmen attending in the afternoon. That also means the vast majority took care of their paperwork before two-a-days began, which is important because practice time hasn’t been lost.
In addition, Woerner reported the players have been ready to learn and perform at a high level, which has led to productive practices.
“I have been incredibly happy and surprised,” he said. “Our kids’ focus has been excellent. We had probably a good a turnout as we ever had.”
Not even the heat, which hits the 90s by the middle of practices, has swayed the players, Woerner said.
“Attitudes have been great,” he said. “They have the mindset they’re going to work hard.”
Woerner also complimented his players on their retention of the playbook, which has allowed coaches to focus on correcting technique and footwork, meaning the learning curve hasn’t been as great.
That is important because 25 out of 32 players graduated from the August 2010 roster.
“We have some holes to fill and fill them fast,” he said. “The guys retained some things over the summer. That will help them.”
Players worked on drills such as pursuing the ball and running routes. In addition, they had tip drills for interceptions and fumble recovery drills.
“We spend individual time every day with each group,” Woerner said. “Footwork, pulls, pass protection — they’re always working on reviewing old stuff and working on something new every day.”
As for conditioning, Woerner said many of the Mustangs reported in good shape.
They still practice for two hours in the early morning, break for an hour and return for another two hours.
“We try to be wise about it,” he said. “We try to break them down and get them fresh. It’s a balancing act of keeping their minds fresh and focused and getting the maximum condition as we can.”
The players aren’t in game shape yet, he said, but that will come in time. For now, he couldn’t be happier with the way the first week finished up.
“It doesn’t do any good for us to flat wear them out,” he said. “We haven’t had people who’ve had to be out (because of the heat). At this point, I’m pleased with the conditioning.”
Woerner might measure the success of the first week in one way.
“I have a voice left after the second day,” he said. “I don’t remember when that happened at this point. I couldn’t be more pleased.”