North High spring football practice in high gear
Hopes springs eternal for every high school football team during spring practice. Everyone has a perfect record, everyone has limitless potential and everyone is confident that the football season upcoming will be a great one.
And if you lose the spring game, at least it doesn’t count.
At North Fort Myers High School, spring football is serious business, for the coaches and the players. And when they hit the field on May 26 for their spring game against Riverview of Sarasota, they will be treating it as seriously as the postseason game they hope to play in November.
North head football coach Earnest Graham has his team paying attention to detail. After two seasons of incremental improvement, this season will tell the tale if the Red Knights are legitimate contenders for the postseason.
So far, so good, Graham said, as those who want to be there are focused.
“It’s gone well. The kids are working real hard and looking good. You’re looking for the attitude the kids bring out here and the effort,” Graham said. “The kids who love football love being out here. You don’t want kids who aren’t committed and that takes care of itself.”
The kids stayed in condition over the winter and spring by lifting weights (football players have a class period for that) and playing other sports before starting practice May 2.
The first two weeks (much of which was played under tremendous weather, which everyone enjoyed) were about seeing what kind of talent the kids have, evaluating them and seeing how they perform on offense and defense. This culminated in a scrimmage over the weekend.
Many of those kids are the freshmen and sophomores who were on JV last year and are now trying to make a name for themselves. Graham always has words of advice for them.
“I tell them to be coachable and have patience and be consistent every day you come in. That way you’ll get better,” Graham said.
As far as adding new wrinkles to the offense and defense, Graham said he has done little of that, adding the game is all about blocking and tackling, and that is something he would emphasize.
“We want to make sure the kids are playing a physical brand of football, make sure they’re in shape and that they’re together,” Graham said.
That togetherness starts with great team leadership. They say it’s been good getting back to hitting, but there are some areas they need to work on.
“We’ve been getting into the hitting again. It’s been a while since we’ve been in pads, so we’re getting used to it again,” said player John Paul Perez. “The first few days we were tired, but once you get back into the hitting and the heat, it’s OK again.”
“We’re working on some new plays and getting better at them,” said Adolphus Taylor. “Right now we’re looking for someone to step up on the offensive line because we’re a little weak there.”