Dragons work indoors Tuesday

The importance of special-teams was emphasized in Junction City’s practice Tuesday afternoon.

Taking advantage of their indoor practice facility, the Dragons were put through an in-depth tutorial in which the various tasks associated with special teams were addressed.

“It was a good day, especially during the afternoon session. We had a chance to have a good walk and talk during practice. We also got a good weightlifting session in,” said Junction City coach David Carpenter. “Whenever we get all those things taken care of, it helps us out. Also, the players got a chance to get their legs back underneath them. It was an easy practice.”

The practice had more of a classroom-like, educational tenor to it.

“That’s what the special teams practice was about, just going over different special teams. Showing the players where to line up and where to go. This was a very valuable practice,” the coach acknowledged. “We worked on who’s going to be where, how we line up, and just refreshing the memory of a lot of the older guys who have been on special teams.

“With the new guys, we just reminded them where they are. We try to keep them in the same position from year-to-year, from junior high to senior high so they’ll know what they’re doing when they move up. But sometimes you have to change them. We’ve had to change several of (the younger player’s) spots. This was just a refresher course for them. And this was a good time to do it.”

Today, the Dragons will focus on defense in their morning session. Meanwhile, offense will be the theme of Junction City’s afternoon practice.

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Smackover Buckaroo coach Brian Strickland kept things simple Tuesday morning as the players competed in a defense-laden practice. Overall, he was pleased with how the student-athletes performed.

“It was another hot day. We concentrated on the defensive side of the ball. We stressed conditioning,” Strickland stated. “We also emphasized getting reps and making sure that everyone got involved. Right now it’s just a day-by-day process.”

Considering that Smackover’s first game is less than a month away, and that the players hope to build on last season’s surge to the Class 3A state final, there’s a certain level of maturity expected from the Bucks. Thus far, the players have fulfilled the expectations. Strickland praised his team for how they’ve handled the heat and monotony of summer practice.

“Condition-wise, our backs and receivers are in real good shape. The linemen are in pretty good shape. They’re still concentrating on getting to where they need to be. Most of the backs and receivers played 7-on-7 all summer so they’re in pretty good shape. So we feel pretty good about where we’re at, but we still know where we have to get to,” the coach said. “It’s a day-by-day process. In regard to our focus, those first two hours are good. It’s just that last one when that sun gets up and it starts warming up that we begin to lose focus. So we have to stay on them and express to them that they have to finish. But so far it’s been two good days.”

Today, the Buckaroos will have their initial practice of the season in full-pads.

“We’re going to work on the offensive side of the ball. We’ll start off with our county fair circuit, then move into special teams, and go into offensive groups, before finishing up in our team groups,” Strickland said. “Right now we’re just trying to look at everybody and get everyone involved. It will be the first day in shoulder pads and we’ll be able to hit and we will get a better look at everybody.”