If the Pioneers want to rebound from back-to-back, one-win seasons, then they have no time to waste getting prepared for the fall. Matt Turner cranked up the urgency on the first day Warren County could hit the practice field, electing to get Squad 55 together at 12:01 a.m. Monday.
Warren County worked out for an hour just after midnight, came back for a second practice at 8 a.m. and wrapped up a busy first day with a two-hour practice Monday afternoon. With over 60 kids showing from the first minute of fall practice that they were ready to hit, Turner was enthusiastic about how his team is approaching the season.
“I’m very excited about this group,” said Turner shortly after the first practice wrapped up at 1 a.m. “These kids are showing already that they won’t shy away from contact. As a coach, you can do all the offseason workouts, get bigger and stronger and do the work in 7-on-7, but you still don’t know what they’ll do when the pads come on.
“These kids were ready to show what they could do. I’m proud of their energy, even though I know they’re probably going to be sore for a day or two after this first day.”
Senior Brayden McKinley made sure to wake up the entire roster shortly after midnight. Working in a gauntlet drill where three teammates lined up one-by-one over a 20-yard distance to protect a dummy at the end of the line, McKinley went to work with a singular mission. Nobody was going to stop the senior from getting to the bag, which he did in mere seconds as he pancaked past his teammates.
McKinley was swarmed by teammates and coaches after his showing, only upping the urgency for the next group of Pioneers. Sophomore Isaiah Robledo replicated McKinley’s determined running, ultimately ending up at the bottom of a celebratory dog pile that included coach Turner.
By the time freshman Garrett Mitchell slammed into a teammate so hard that it sent a piece of his padding flying, Turner had seen enough to let them get some sleep.
“It could’ve been our best midnight practice since we started this my first year. I can’t compare it to the 2020 group because we didn’t get to do this with them, but these kids really showed up ready to go,” said Turner.
Monday morning’s workout was less intensive, something Turner admitted was probably for the best after the midnight practice – “We can’t afford to have kids getting hurt and we needed time to teach more than hit too,” said Turner – but the afternoon session cranked back up as the team focused on defense.
