Smackover adjusting to game-week routine
Smackover may not open its season until next week when they host Junction City, but coach David Osborn has been using this week as a regular week during the season.
“We have been looking at this as a game week for us,” Osborn said. “Our week has been set up around a typical week in season. We want to get the kids in that mode as soon as possible. We will even go through pregame on Thursday just like a normal week.”
The Bucks squared off against Parkers Chapel in their scrimmage last week, and Osborn said the team has been focused on correcting mistakes.
“Going back and looking at the scrimmage, it's easy to see a lot of small mistakes that need to be corrected for us to improve as a team,” Osborn said. “We have broken the film down several times as a staff and this week's practices have been geared at trying to fix those issues. I like how we started but we weren't really happy with how it ended.
“The best thing about the scrimmage is the kids were not pleased with their performance and have been working hard this week to address the issues. So far this week, it's been two pretty good days of practice. The kids realize that some of them have to step up for us to improve and help us develop some depth.”
Osborn said the Bucks worked on defense and conditioning in their Tuesday practice.
“We focused on getting our fits up front, linebackers making correct reads, and secondary keeping their eyes out of the backfield and covering their zones,” Osborn said. “We had a pretty good 12 periods of practice and then at the end, we hit them with a little county fair. We left the scrimmage feeling we needed to pick up the conditioning, so it's been a rough week.”
With Hurricane Laura expected to bring heavy rain to Union County, the Bucks will very likely be practicing indoors today.
“With our indoor facility, the weather isn't really an issue for us,” Osborn said. “That has been a blessing for us since it was built. Never a reason to shut down practice either to heat or the weather. The great thing about it is we are going to practice and you can put those doors down and it feels about like a hot humid summer day in there year-round.”