Marble Falls, Burnet and Llano start fall football camps Aug. 3
JENNIFER FIERRO • STAFF WRITER
MARBLE FALLS — Area high school football players are enjoying one final week of summer before hitting the fields for fall training camps.
Incoming 10th- , 11th- and 12th-graders start camps Aug. 3 from 6-6:30 a.m. with locker assignments and equipment measurements before heading to the practice fields from 7-7:30 a.m. to avoid the Texas heat.
Teams run through position-specific drills before ending the day in the weight room.
Squads take part in two 90-minute practices with a 30-minute break in between (that typically includes film work) to abide by University Interscholastic League rules.
In addition, a UIL rule states players can only wear helmets for the first five practices; they’ll be in full pads for intersquad scrimmages that begin with Llano on Aug. 7. Intersquad scrimmages for both Marble Falls and Burnet are Aug. 8.
“We really try to hit the ground running,” Bulldogs head coach Kurt Jones said. “The older kids should have a feel for what we do and how we do it. There’s not a whole lot of teaching our system, of how we practice in terms of what we’re teaching.”
Jones said he’s encouraged by the number of athletes participating in the strength-and-conditioning summer program and the success of the 7-on-7 varsity team that finished in the top eight in the championship bracket of the state tournament earlier in July.
“I feel like our guys had a good summer,” Jones said. “I think we’ll come back in pretty good shape.”
The first two days of fall camps are typically teaching days with plenty of drills to help condition players who might not have been as diligent during summer workouts.
“I don’t think in one day or three days you’ll get them in shape,” Mustangs head coach Matt Green said. “We design our practices to help them get in shape.”
Marble Falls coaches will have players run from drill to drill, run when they’re getting back in line for their turn on a drill and even run to water stations during breaks.
“Kids don’t realize they’re having conditioning work,” Green said.
Yellow Jackets head coach Craig Slaughter and his staff measured players during the fall for their equipment. So when Llano players report at 6:30 a.m., it’ll be for locker assignments and combinations. Coaches will have their practice gear, pads, helmets and mouth pieces already in the lockers.
“It’s a great time of year,” Slaughter said. “Optimism abounds. You’re excited also. I think we have some good pieces in place.”
jfierro@thepicayune.com