Trojans, Eagles reap benefits from first week of practice
While the workouts for the Trojans football players may have required additional effort and attention from coaching personnel for two months after the June restart, head coach Darrell Burnett pointed out that the long hours have not hindered the coaching staff.
Burnett said that the transition to limited-contact practice has “been good,” and the main issue has been getting the players together for early practices.
“For instance, we had an 11 o’clock group that only practiced until 1 (p.m.), some had to be here at 6:15 (a.m.), be at the weight room at 6:35 (a.m.) — that’s a big adjustment, especially for parents,” he explained. “The kids and coaches — everybody was excited to get back on some type of plan. I want to say the biggest adjustment was just putting in the effort. … It was really our first time in a team setting. … This was our first week
actually being together for a whole week, which was good for our coaches. We were able to get them home a little bit early. We’ve been up there running five groups, so it’s been long, long weeks. We’re grinding, so it doesn’t bother us. … It’s been going good.”
New Cutter Morning Star head coach Matt Kinsinger joined the staff after the June 1 start date, but he said that the Eagles have not missed a beat as they continue to adopt new team strategies.
“Kids have been practicing hard, and everybody’s excited about being back out there for sure,” he said. “We’ve had a good number of kids come out, so we’ve been very energetic at practice. They’ve accepted learning a new offense and defense very well, and the kids are good kids. They’re working real hard for me, and I appreciate it.
“The summer workouts have been going very well. We had a large portion of our guys showing up for the majority of the time, which is pretty good considering COVID-19 and a brand new coach coming in in late June. We had a really good core group of kids; they’re really eager to learn, really eager to get back at it and to play, and they really have adjusted and adapted really well. I’m proud of them.”
Kinsinger, who was an assistant at Lake Hamilton for the past three seasons, said that his new team was “excited” to move into limited-contact drills and being able to work on installing his new schemes.
“They were ready to go, and they were here,” he said. “They’ve adjusted well. It’s been good to see them move together and kinda how everything is orchestrated when you play everybody.
“It’s like everybody’s been working with puzzle pieces, and kind of trying to put the pieces together from the different corners and working our way to the middle. And now we’re getting to the middle pieces where we can connect it all together and see what it truly looks like in an 11-on-11 type situation. … They haven’t played since fall. There was no spring ball, and there was no summer team camps, so these guys are champing at the bit. I’m glad to see that; I’m glad to see that they’re ready to go, and that tells me that their attitude is in the right place.”
The Trojans have been focusing on “building a lot of fundamentals” while trying to use practice as an escape from what is going on in the world.
“With any type of thing that’s going right now in society, it’s bad, but you’ve got 2 1/2 to 3 hours together to just focus on one another, being a team and football, and try to block everything else out,” Burnett explained. “Our kids are hoping that we’re able to go, but the decision’s not in our hands, and regardless of which way we go, we’re gonna step it up.”
Kinsinger agreed that the new development “is a positive step in the right direction” for high school athletics.
“The reality is that for two hours on the practice field, right now everything is normal,” he explained. “This is what we normally do during this time of the year. I think kids need that, and I think they don’t know that they need that, but they do. They need that structure, that normalcy back in their life. And I think by them having that, it’s been really physically and mentally beneficial for them. I really do. I’ve just seen kids come out of their shell from the summer workouts to putting some pads on and having some fun. I think that this is a good thing for them, and I hope it continues.”
As the Eagles near their season opener at Bismarck on Aug. 28, Kinsinger and his team highly anticipate having a chance to play ball this year in a new conference.
“It seems to me from the level that makes these tough decisions, that at least they’re willing to give it a chance … A lot of places (have) already moved their dates back, or they’ve canceled their season for the year,” he said. “We’re thankful that our leadership and the (Arkansas Activities Association) are all working hard to keep the season going, obviously with the safety of all in mind.”