Black Knights hold first practice
After just one day of practice, optimism was running high among both the Black Knights football players and coaching staff.
Robbinsville took to the high school practice field Aug. 1 for the first official day of 2019 practice. By the end of the 2ó hour session, Dee Walsh had nothing but positive things to say about what’s to come when the season kicks off Friday, Aug. 23, at Smoky Mountain.
“We’ve had a good summer,” Walsh said. “We’re really pleased with the turnout, our kids’ attitudes and their work ethic. We’re just going to try as positive as we can be and see how it works out.”
It’s early, but the Knights are showing why they advanced to the 1A Western Regional Final in 2018. Simulated running plays looked crisp. Conditioning – the main focus of the first week – did not appear to be as bad as one would think, given that 40 players are returning from summer vacation. Numbers are up and that’s a good sign, as Walsh has just as many varsity players as he does on the junior varsity.
“We’ve got a couple that aren’t here, but that’s the biggest turnout that we’ve ever had for the start of practice,” Walsh said. “We’re excited. There’s a lot of team that have never played before. We had a good year and kids get excited and want to be a part of it. We’ve got good things going on right now.”
A mixture of senior leadership will lead the charge for Robbinsville this year, with some of the impact players making a strong impression on inexperienced members of the roster right off the bat. Players such as Rylee Anderson, Nathan Collins, Lex Hooper, Malakai Littlejohn and Colby Lovin helped steer the ship during the first foray into the campaign. “We’ve got a lot of kids returning that understand that we do,” Walsh said. “They were all mixed in. It was smooth. No one fell out and that’s always a good thing.”
Robbinsville will don pads and begin full contact today. Walsh indicated that the Black Knights are not going to adopt a “two-a-day” practice mentality, as one session is grueling enough in the sweltering August heat.
“We have to do five days of conditioning,” Walsh said. “We have to do three days in shorts and helmets and then we add shoulder pads and begin contact. We’ll have some mornings where we will come in, lift weights, have some meetings and some walkthroughs. We feel like one good practice is enough for them.
“Coaches like what we’ve got, and the kids with attitudes they’ve got makes everything just run real smooth. Overall, we’re just trying to be one big, happy team.”