Article by, Mansfield Tiger Football Head Coach, Craig Bentley
We had 28 players out, same 28 that have been with us all Spring and off season. Last year, we had around 40+ out during off season and finished Spring with under 30. So, this years group is more dependable and is seeing it through.
Coaches, and players have had to adjust to the heat. But, overall energy and effort has been great. We have focused on the little things this Spring, which is important because it shows you care.
We return multiple starters on both sides of the ball for the first time since I became a Tiger. We have a small but dependable Senior class and they will all play big roles for us this year. The majority of our offense returns from last year and we are all healthy, we have a chance to be very explosive both in the air and on the ground.
Defensively, we have been working on installing a new scheme for a few months now and working out the kinks. Same thing goes with our offense. We have a lot of guys returning who logged important minutes and reps for us there last year on defense. At the end of the day, defense is all about tackling and playing fast and physical. This year, our guys should be more acclimated to the size, strength and speed of a high school football game.
We had 28 players out, same 28 that have been with us all Spring and off season. Last year, we had around 40+ out during off season and finished Spring with under 30. So, this years group is more dependable and is seeing it through.
Coaches, and players have had to adjust to the heat. But, overall energy and effort has been great. We have focused on the little things this Spring, which is important because it shows you care.
We return multiple starters on both sides of the ball for the first time since I became a Tiger. We have a small but dependable Senior class and they will all play big roles for us this year. The majority of our offense returns from last year and we are all healthy, we have a chance to be very explosive both in the air and on the ground.
Defensively, we have been working on installing a new scheme for a few months now and working out the kinks. Same thing goes with our offense. We have a lot of guys returning who logged important minutes and reps for us there last year on defense. At the end of the day, defense is all about tackling and playing fast and physical. This year, our guys should be more acclimated to the size, strength and speed of a high school football game.
“Experience is vital”
The Spring is all about learning to play within your scheme on both sides of the ball and continuing to improve on your fundamentals as well as figuring out what works offensively and defensively. That is our focus. We are also trying to figure out who are special teams specialists will be.
We will complete Spring ball on May 18th with our Alumni Dinner (FREE to all former football players, coaches and cheerleaders) at 6:30pm at Mansfield Middle School Cafeteria followed by our Spring game at 7:30pm at the historic MMS football field.
