Spring fun-damental football
Spring football is all about getting back to the fundamentals. Coaches take the opportunity to look over the returning players, and possibly a few newcomers, to evaluate their skill level to determine who will step in to take the place of the departing seniors.
Twenty days of practice is all the Florida High School Athletic Association allows its affiliated schools to have. It culminates with spring “classic” games – full scrimmages against teams representing other schools.
Mariner and Bishop Verot are the first to play spring games on May 19. Mariner travels to Lemon Bay while Verot hosts Port Charlotte.
Island Coast travels to East Lee County for a spring game on May 20.
In an all-Cape clash, the Cape Coral Seahawks square off against the Bulldogs at Ida Baker on May 26. North Fort Myers is one of the last schools to play this spring when it hosts Lehigh on May 27.
Practice began Monday and the first three days were devoted to conditioning. Full pads and contact is allowed starting Thursday.
“We want to get better this spring with a lot of team bonding and building,” said Ida Baker coach Brian Conn. “Putting on the pads we will get a good feel of who wants to be out there.”
With the new two-year state reclassification, based on student population figures, in force for 2011-12, Island Coast makes the biggest jump of any Cape school. The Gators go from the low-level district in which they played the past two years to the new seven-team Class 6A-11.
The Gators, who won the District 2B-6 championship two years in a row, must now go against the likes of Fort Myers, North Fort Myers, South Fort Myers, Riverdale, Ida Baker and Bishop Verot to get back to the playoffs for a third consecutive year.
“This is a tougher district than last year,” said Conn. “You’ve got Island Coast and South Fort Myers in there who went far in the playoffs last year. Fort Myers will bounce back, North I expect will be better and Bishop Verot petitioned to move up. There are seven teams and only two get out (playoffs).”
Like most coaches and players, everyone is anxious to put on the pads and leave the concentrated conditioning and fundamental work behind.
“We’re fairly young,” said Gators coach Joe Bowen. “We had some seniors on defense, so we’re going to be building a defensive line, and we’re senior-laden on offense.”
The Gators believe that with a 2,000-yard runningback returning and much of the offense intact that their skill guys can play with anybody on their schedule.
“Everybody in the district has been to the playoffs before recently or for many years,” said Bowen. “They’ve been there, done that, so we will have to be prepared every week.”
“We’re anxious to iron some things out while looking for more consistency on both sides of the ball,” said North Fort Myers coach Barry Goettemoeller. “I like the new district. It is very competitive. If you get in the playoffs from this district you ought to be well prepared.”
Facing six games against district rivals gives added importance to each one.
“You like to get some natural rivalries on the schedule,” said Goettemoeller, “but in Lee County there are not many softies out there.”