Over the booming country music, crunching of players hitting foam pads and calling out of plays, a couple of phrases from head football coach Drew Steffen rang out repeatedly at the Cardinals’ first football practice Monday.
“Hustle back.” “Reload it.” “Run it again.”
The team wasted no time running through plays and repping fundamental skills. And the coaching staff wasted no time pushing them, encouraging them to run to their next drill and focus on playing their best every rep.
But the players don’t seem to mind. They see it as a sign the team is ready to be pushed to its full potential.
“Yeah, we love that adversity,” senior wide receiver and cornerback Christian Jarrett said. “We love coach really giving it to us. We love that constructive criticism. We love having the young guys letting it build up. We just love everything. We love the grind.”
The next two weeks will be about preparation before they start their season hosting Hayden on Sept. 6.
Steffen said he was excited about this group long before they put on helmets and took the field for the first day of practice. All summer, during the team’s weightlifting and conditioning, he’s seen their work ethic and passion.
“It’s been awesome,” Steffen said. “The kids have competed, they’ve learned, they’ve done everything we’ve asked them. I told them, ‘I’ve had more fun coaching football this summer than I’ve had ever.’”
Players emphasized the need for consistency after losing a lot of senior leadership last season. The team is young and will field only seven seniors, Steffen said.
“Just because we had a good practice yesterday doesn’t mean we need to slack off today,” senior wide quarterback and safety Connor Watson said. He said the key was keeping practices consistent and focusing on getting better every day.
One key for the team this year is the bond between players, which helps them push through the sweltering practices and grueling weightlifting sessions.
“There’s a lot of love,” senior linebacker, safety and fullback Errol Siemen said. “Doesn’t matter what grade they are. Everyone wants everyone to be the best they can possibly be. And again, it just comes down to: You need to be coachable. Otherwise, it’s just going to fall apart.”
Just because most of the practice was filled with fundamentals doesn’t mean there weren’t moments where flashy plays showed what the Cardinals could be capable of this season. On multiple occasions, Watson found a leaping Jarrett for large gains during practice reps.
But where the Cardinals will really see what they can accomplish this year, and how high their ceiling can be, is in the little things every day, Steffen said.
“We gotta show up every day,” he said. “We have to understand our assignment. We have to understand the intensity that we have to practice with. And then we have to make sure we’re executing, not only in practice, but also executing on Friday nights.”
Reach reporter Cuyler Dunn at [email protected]
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