With this month coming to a close, the end of the long, hot summer and the beginning of another exciting high school football season can’t be too far behind.

However, this still is July, it’s still hot and the gridiron learning process continues throughout the city and county high schools.

With their first official practice still nearly two weeks off, the Southside High School Panthers took to the field Thursday for what fifth-year head coach Christopher Raymond deemed a round of conditioning. With temperatures in the mid 90s, Raymond’s hopes of having his team in peak physical condition for the Aug. 22 season-opener against Selma High.

“Last year, we did a lot of conditioning inside,” Raymond said. “We’d play basketball in the gym on Mondays and Wednesdays. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we’d be in the weight room and we worked a little on the practice field.

The Panthers’ summer schedule this year includes weight-room work four days a week and outdoor practices between 2-4 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday. Raymond said this was the team’s fifth week of enduring the long, hot weather while preparing for the upcoming season.

The increase in outdoor activities, along with some of the players’ ambitions to stay in shape, has Raymond optimistic.

“A lot of the kids are in better shape than I thought,” Raymond said after his Panthers concluded a two-hour practice. “A lot of them do some running on their own at Bloch Park, so they’re coming to practice in good physical shape.”

That extra conditioning put in by the Southside High players may very well come into play as the season continues. After five games last season, Southside High owned a 3-2 record. The Panthers eventually finished 9-3 and advanced into the second round of the state playoffs.

“The goal every year is to go 5-0 after the first five games,” Raymond said. “You never know what’s going to happen. This year, the kids have the understanding of what it takes to win.”

Junior tight end/defensive end/quarterback Jeffery Anderson is one member of the Panthers who has grasped the concept of hard work under any conditions.

“We’re getting used to the heat,” Anderson said. “We took it pretty well the first time we were out here. Most of us out here played baseball, so we’re used to the heat.”

Like his coach, Anderson believes the Panthers’ conditioning program will pay dividends in 2004.

“Last year, we were out of shape at the beginning of the season,” he said. “We’ll probably go 10-0 this year. We’ll be in shape when the season starts.”

If the Panthers actually complete an unbeaten season, Raymond said it would be because of the team effort before and during the season. However, Raymond added he was less than satisfied with the attendance he has seen for his team’s conditioning program.

“I’m kind of disappointed in the offensive linemen,” he said. “I was anticipating between 12-15 players each day, and we’ve had eight or nine.”

Raymond said many of the players absent from practice have taken summer jobs. He added that he expects all of his players to be mentally and physically prepared when the season begins.