You have to get up pretty early to keep pace with the Lake Highlands football team. Monday’s first official practice starts at 6 a.m. on the practice field – which will probably still be covered in moonlight at that hour.
"We’ve got those helmets with the flashlight on them," coach Scott Smith joked. "I ordered a bunch of them."
The sun should be up by the time the Cats finish stretching. The varsity will practice at 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. on Monday and Tuesday. Per UIL rules, they will be in T-shirts, shorts and helmets for the first four days before donning full pads Friday.
Smith expects some rust, but he’s eager to see the 120 or so JV and varsity players back on the field.
"We feel really good about the 7-on-7 season we had, and the commitment level we had for summer strength and conditioning," Smith said. "That makes us all excited about what’s ahead of us."
What’s ahead for the players on Monday is the annual conditioning test. Smith will find out who’s been staying in shape by having every player attempt to run 20 reps of 40-yard dashes, with only a 30-second break in between each run.
For more about the conditioning test, click on the jump.
The players have to run every 40 in a specific time based on position. Skill players must finish in five seconds, tight ends and linebackers in six seconds and linemen in seven seconds.
If a player can’t finish one of the 40s in that time, he is "out" and spends the rest of the drill on the side. There’s no penalty for not finishing, but it gives the coaches an idea of who’s been committed to working out during the summer.
"Part of what we did this summer was preparing them to be ready for that test," Smith said. "I would venture to say that 100 percent of the kids who were consistent with our offseason and summer strength and conditioning will make it fairly easily."
And how many LH coaches could pass the 20-40 test?
"There’s a few of us that probably would pass out after one or two," Smith said. "I’ve got a few young ones that are in good shape and would make everybody else look bad."
