High school football season is here
Tuesday was the first day of high school football practice in Wisconsin.
Coaches handed out pads Monday and players took to the fields Tuesday for the beginning of two-a-days.
The first days, however, are nothing too spectacular, as can be concluded after Logan coach Casey Knoble’s description of his team’s first practice.
“Very fundamental,” he said. “We just really do our base runs. Our base defense. Base tackling. It’s back to basics right away, and we make sure we never skip that because it’s the most important thing we work on.”
It makes sense for all teams to get back to basics for the first week or two, but it, perhaps, makes even more sense for the Rangers. Coming off an 11-1 season – the lone loss coming against Division 3 state runners-up, Rice Lake, in the playoff quarterfinals – and an undefeated record in winning the MVC, the Rangers have lost seven starters on defense and six more on offense.
Along with the basics, coaches also learn pretty quickly who was working all summer to stay in shape and who was not.
“There are some kids that haven’t quite put that commitment,” Knoble said. “They were hurting (Tuesday), and you could definitely tell a difference when we got to the end of practice who had been working out and who hadn’t. I feel bad for those guys who didn’t put in much time this summer.”
In a few weeks, however, those kids will be ready to go, but it’s kind of a marathon to Aug. 21 – the first game.
“Every practice, it’s just a day less until we’re under those lights,” Logan senior Tanner Holzer said. “That’s how I view it and stay motivated.”
Holzer will play middle linebacker and fullback for the Rangers. He’ll be looked upon as a leader out there. And, he’ll get yelled at along with everyone else, early on, as is the norm those first couple days of practice.
“We could definitely tell he was getting a little mad at us, at the end of our offense (practice),” Holzer said of Knoble. “The younger kids who don’t know how to run it yet, you could tell he was getting a little frustrated. But otherwise, we’re getting back into the swing of things.”