By Robert Hudson

The Selma Times-Journal

While some may think the first practice of football season is spent perfecting offensive schemes or going over the playbook, local coaches see it as an opportunity to go back to the basics.

With Alabama Independent School Association and Alabama High School Athletic Association teams beginning football practice on July 28 and Aug. 1, respectively, local coaches are finishing off-season workouts and looking to the future.

“We’re tying up a lot of loose ends,” said John Glasscock, head coach of Meadowview Christian School. “We’re finishing up summer weightlifting and conditioning, and handing out equipment.”

Coaches all across Dallas County know the season is upon them, but their players will not be trading in shorts and shirts for helmets and shoulder pads just yet, nor will they be diving head first into a playbook during the season’s first practice.

“We’re going to try to get special teams and stuff out of the way and teach basic fundamentals,” said Selma High School coach Leroy Miles. “We’ll teach how to line up and basic things you do without pads.”

Due to rules in place, teams will not be able to practice in full equipment on day one and even if they could, most coaches would not use the opportunity to hold scrimmages. Like his fellow coaches at Meadowview and Selma High, Ellwood coach Mike Stokes said the first day of practice is a time to work on the basics.

“I’m a big special teams guy,” Stokes said. “The small things should be taken care of first, like where to line up, because the small things can decide if you win the game.”

Glasscock said his team’s first day will be focused on the fundamentals as well as conditioning.

“The biggest thing we’ve got to do is put people in positions,” Glasscock said. “We’ll do team stuff, and we won’t break up into groups. We’re going to stress where to line up, spacing, coming out of the huddle and how to come off the football.”

Morgan Academy coach Brian King said his team would pick up where it left off in the spring.

“We’re going to refresh what we did in the spring and work on our sets,” King said. “We did 7-on-7 drills during the summer, so a lot of the passing game is already installed. Everybody’s just ready to get out there.”