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Nose to the gridiron-stone: Wildcats hit the ground running in open to fall practice
BY Matt Welch, mwelch@starlocalnews.com
The Plano Senior football team has left no stone unturned in the build to last Monday, when fall practices officially got under way.
Months of groundwork was laid, with anticipation that the principles instilled in the players would rear their heads at this time of year.
So far, so good for the Wildcats.
That message reverberated throughout the manner in which the Wildcats conducted their first week of fall practices, with the team's attention to detail and organization paramount in keeping things operating at a fluid pace.
"I'm very excited," said Richard Lagow, Plano senior quarterback. "Coming up to practice we were kinda just sitting around just waiting for it to start. We've had a great start and we're all excited."
Enjoying his third year on varsity and second as a starter, Lagow is no stranger to the demands of fall practice.
Keeping things regimented each day this past week, the Wildcats arrive at school at 6:30 a.m. and are on the field by 7 before commencing individual periods that last anywhere from 90 minutes to two hours. The players then break off into film sessions where they'll get a chance to cool off and snack for 30 minutes while watching video. Conditioning exercises preclude the second portion of practice, which offers more team-centric periods, followed by more conditioning and then sessions in both the film and weight room.
Practice runs until roughly noon, with Plano maintaining its departure from the traditional two-a-days format in a motion first implemented by former head coach and current Plano ISD athletic director Gerald Brence.
The sessions are structured, with the players operating under the watch of a clock for each period. The togetherness is there in the conditioning drills, with players cheering on the final batch of linemen to cross the finish line after running sideline-to-sideline four times.
As expected, there's rust that needs to be shaken off as the players get acclimated.
"We have a lot of repeats on some plays," said Joseph Noteboom, Plano senior offensive lineman, "but we learn from our mistakes and get it done by watching film. I think by the end of the week we'll have it all down."
That quality over quantity approach is seen in the coaching staff as well, emphasizing good reps and assuring details that have been an undoing previously don't creep up again.
"It all comes down to paying attention to detail," McCullough said. "When we lose close games like we did last year, that comes back on me. I told players and coaches that and it comes back down to discipline and doing the little things right."
It means running the same toss right play multiple times until the rep is to a level that it can be assuredly implemented on Friday nights.
From McCullough's eye, the players are up for the challenge, something he confirmed during the summer when the principles he and his staff had been working to instill were showcased, primarily during Plano's journey to its first-ever Division I 7-on-7 State Championship.
"I use the 7-on-7 team as an example," McCullough said. "Not that it means it'll translate to the fall or anything, but it was real clear that our kids were very team-oriented and played with a lot of humility. When somebody went down, there was someone there ready to step up.
"I think that kind of thing can carry over."
The Wildcats will get to further put that work into practice Friday when they host Mesquite at 7 p.m. from Kimbrough Stadium in their lone scrimmage. Afterward, the build to Week 0 and a home tilt at Kimbrough against Lewisville commences.
"It's a dress rehearsal," McCullough said. "It's not like a Spring Game, but just us getting used to how we're going to communicate, get plays in and how we're going to rotate players. We look at that scrimmage like a game.
"That's our game to practice for the next week against Lewisville."
"I think we have a chip on our shoulder," Lagow added. "That's how we played during 7-on-7, it's how we're going to play during the fall and hopefully we have the same success."
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