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July 23, 2008

Coaches add finishing touches

Local prep football teams attending passing camps, preparing for fall practice on Aug. 4

By Michael A. Cummings

Summer is already over for Cullman County’s prep football coaches.

With just 11 days left until fall practice begins, coaches are putting the final touches on summer workouts, including a bevy of last-minute 7-on-7 passing camps.

That includes Fairview, which has two camps scheduled today alone.

The Aggies start the day hosting Cold Springs, Brindlee Mountain and Meek for 7-on-7 games before traveling to Arab for another set tonight.

“It gives us a chance to get the kids out there and get them coached up, get some things installed and see who might be a playmaker for the regular season.” said Fairview coach George Redding.

The 7-on-7 doubleheader comes just days after the Aggies completed a team camp in Lafayette, Ga., where about 50 Fairview players took part in three days worth of drills.

“They worked the kids pretty hard and did 7-on-7 each night,” Redding said.

With the demanding schedule, it’s no surprise the Aggies won’t touch a football again until practice starts Aug. 4.

“After tomorrow, we’re going to give our guys the next week off, let them relax a bit,” said Redding. “We’ll let them recuperate some before we start fall practice.”

Like Redding, Cullman coach Mark Britton has had his Bearcats busy with workouts all summer. It all comes to an end tomorrow, when last season’s Class 5A semifinalists visit Hartselle for a 7-on-7 date with Sparkman, Athens and the host Tigers.

“It’s good for us,” said Britton, adding his team will also get next week off to rest. “It’ll be our last 7-on-7 of the summer.”

For the Bearcats, this summer has been more than just 7-on-7 camps. The past two months, Britton’s team has been working hard on endurance and conditioning — hoping all the extra work will pay off down the road.

And this year, Britton borrowed an idea from some of his counterparts in the college ranks.

Called metabolic runs, the increasingly popular exercise involves runs of 10 to 65 yards repeated about every 25 seconds.

“It’s something new,” said Britton. “A lot of colleges have gone to it, but it’s the first time we’ve gone to it this year.”

After timing every member of the squad recently, Britton said his team is in better shape than it has been in years.

“We’re real excited about how our kids finished,” he said.

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