The Gilmer High Bobcats have started to put the pieces in place for their 2022 campaign.
The start of spring football practice last Wednesday marked the beginning of head coach Paul Standard’s second year at the helm. With his system and program principles in place, Standard has seen participation increase from 46 players a year ago to 67 as of Monday afternoon.
“We didn’t end last season with the record we wanted, but we finished strong and finished as a football team, not some fragmentation of a group of people,” Standard said Monday. “Because of how they (graduating seniors and rising seniors) must have talked about things and acted about things with our football program . . . is why people want to be a part of it.
“Even though we went 3-7, there are people who want to be a part of this. Those guys must have talked about something positive or else all these guys wouldn’t have wanted to come out here and try it. We had to overcome that negativity and apathy that was in the program when we got here. That’s a credit to the seniors who have just left us, and the rising seniors have done a tremendous job so far.”
A vital aspect of any successful football team is the effectiveness of its weight training program. Standard has been pleased with what coaches Jeff Nelson, Ashley DeWitt and P.G. Standard have been able to accomplish over the past 12 months.
“We’ve been creating the culture and environment for success, and it started on June 6 of last year with those weight training coaches,” Standard said. “We were not very good in the weight room last year (prior to Nelson taking over the role of strength coordinator), and I witnessed it. Our guys are in the weight room for a reason and a purpose and it’s been great.”
Through the first four days of spring practice, Standard has been looking to see how their strides in the weight room translate to performance on the field. Much of the two weeks will center around player evaluations as the coaching staff gets an idea of who it can depend on in the fall.
“We need to find the guys who can play. We have 10 seniors, and all of them are going to play. I know what they can do,” Standard said. “I need to find out what these sophomores and juniors and a couple of these freshmen can do.”
The Bobcats will finish up the week and return to the field for three more days of practice next week. While a formal Purple versus White scrimmage has not been planned for next Wednesday, Standard hopes to run some plays with a full defense versus a full offense before practice concludes.