COVE-HESIVE

By TJ MAXWELL

Football camps teach athletes about technique, timing and even give players and introduction to schemes to be implemented for the upcoming season. The Bulldawg NFL Football  camp held this week at Bulldawg Stadium, also give players, and coaches alike, a chance to gel together – something camp director and freshman head coach Jeff Shannon thinks is  vital for the incoming freshman class. Some former rivals at S.C. Lee and Copperas Cove Junior High Schools will now be teammates on  the freshman level. “I think the biggest thing is we’re trying to get the teams to gel,” said Shannon. “You’ve got two junior  highs merging and you’re trying to get them to be a cohesive unit. You start off at the beginning of the week and it’s not so great, but by the end  of the week, the kids act as if they’ve known each other forever.”  Not only does it give the players a chance to form that cohesiveness, It gives coaches a chances to gel with the players they’ll be coaching when two-a-days begin next week. “The good thing about it is that you get a lot of the coaches that the kids will be playing under this year,” said Shannon. “Working together, starting to gel a little bit. In that respect,  it’s a really beneficial camp.” For the younger kids, the camps help them learn proper fundamentals  that will help them along as they make their way through the Bulldawg football ranks. “It’s all about the basics,” said  Shannon about the younger campers. “Establishing formations, recognizing  what the coaches want you to look for and things like that.” The camps also help new members of the coaching staff get up to speed on the ‘Bulldawg Way’ before  two-a-days kick off on Monday. “With the new coaches we’ve hired, it really is a learning experience for them,” said Shannon. “We  had a (coaches’) clinic last week to kind of get them prepared for it but that doesn’t do it justice. They have to come out here and prove themselves to us. “It helps them in a lot of regards because when they teach it, they’re more apt to learn it. With the veterans, it allows us to take the time toDysonhelp those coaches help those kids.” For those veteran coaches, like Shannon, it gives them a little a glimpse into the future of their program. What strengths and weaknesses the underclassmen have and what schemes will work best as the make their way up the highest level of high school football. Coach Shannon likes what he’s seen thus far. “It’s been really good actually,” he said. “The kids are learning what needs to be learned. The offensive scheme is working better. We’re getting out of them what we need and hopefully it will prepare them for the future. A lot of them start two-a-days next week. It gives them a step in the right direction.” Shannon also realizes that not all athletes with hopes of someday donning the Bulldawg Blue and Gold were present at the camp and he wants to tell those students there’s still time. “It’s not too late,” he said. “We’ve got one more day if they’d like to come out we’d be more than happy to have them. “A lot of them are in between about what they want to do. I would tell them to just come talk to our coaching staff. I think a lot of them are scared just because they don’t know. If we talk to them and explain that it’s really fun, they’re more apt to come out. We will take anybody along the road that decides to play.” The Bulldawgs will begin their quest for a 12th-consecutive playoff appearance and 17th postseason trip since 1998 when two-a-days kick off on Monday.