The Meadowview Christian Trojans football team kept running their plays over and over Wednesday afternoon until coach Bob Taylor blew the whistle to signal the conditioning period.

Practice for the Trojans has changed a lot since last season, now that the team has transitioned into playing 11-man football again.

During the summer, Taylor arranged for the Trojans to join the Alabama Independent Schools Association (AISA). The return to traditional football has forced the Trojans to adapt to new schemes and terminology in order to prepare for the upcoming season.

Adding three more players on each side of the ball changes what used to be available to the team offensively.

“Eight-man is a little more wide open, whereas 11-man is a little more hands-on, let’s get it and go,” Taylor said.

Taylor, his co-coach David Shaw and the other Meadowview Christian assistants have been preparing the boys for the adjustments.

“It’s going OK,” Taylor said. “We’re having to re-learn everything. Going from eight-man to 11-man has been a big swap for them. Learning how to hit correctly, how to block and tackle. It’s the same thing everyone is going through this time of year.”

The players have caught-on, but they still have things to work on before they are ready for their first game.

“They’re adjustment has been pretty good,” Taylor said. “We did five days of two-a-days, so that was a good adjustment for them, and they have had to learn all new terminology, what we expect, how we want things to run. That aspect has been a little bit different for them, but they’re adjusting well and working extremely hard.”

The Trojans first test of the year will be during the scrimmage they are hosting Friday afternoon.

“It’ll be a good point to see where we are physically, mentally and continue to just fine tune our offense where we get down what we’re trying to do,” Taylor said.

The heat has been beating down on football practices since teams were allowed to put on helmets, but the Meadowview staff is keeping the boys hydrated during practices. The boys get a water break in 15-minute intervals between practice periods, and Taylor reminds them to stay hydrated.

“It’s been tough,” Meadowview head coach Bob Taylor said. “Especially being out here in all-black…We’ve been in the heat this whole time, and it’s worn on them. They’re having to learn how to take care of their bodies away from here.”