By ROY HESS, Staff Writer
The St. Joseph Academy Bloodhounds in football and Pace Lady Vikings in volleyball just can’t wait to get their respective seasons started.
That’s why they’ll gather tonight and be kicking off their fall campaigns with “Midnight Madness” workouts at 12:01 a.m. Monday, which is the earliest possible time they can start practicing under UIL and TAPPS rules.
“We want to show that we’re going to be the team that’s working hard while others are sleeping,” second-year Pace volleyball coach Gavin Rudder said of the Lady Vikings’ “Midnight Madness” workout session, which should last until approximately 2:30 a.m.
Actually, it’s the second straight year the Pace volleyball team has opened its season at midnight.
“We’re trying to start something new and bring some excitement to the program,” Rudder said. “Everyone is invited to come out and see how excited we are about the coming season. It was a pretty successful event last season.”
Rudder expects between 50 and 60 girls to show up for the start of practice tonight. The first workout figures to be a session of conditioning with drills at various stations or “circuit training.”
Following “Midnight Madness,” the Pace freshmen will work out from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Monday and the varsity and junior varsity players will follow from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Beginning Tuesday, the Lady Vikings will have daily workouts from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
SJA will hold its “Midnight Madness” football workout at Canales Field, hoping to achieve a lofty goal with its fast-paced offense. The players will be attired in shorts, T-shirts and helmets.
“We will start practice with a segment called ‘Team Quick Whistle,’ attempting to run five plays a minute versus our defense,” said recently named SJA head coach Tino Villarreal, who patterns his rapid-fire offense after that of the University of Oregon. “Our hope is to be the first team in the nation to run 50 plays by 12:10 a.m.
“Our practice will last 1 hour, 40 minutes as most do, just like Oregon’s,” he added. “Our players are ready to start the season, and adding the excitement of having our first practice under the lights at Canales Field just adds fuel to the fire.”
Villarreal expects to have approximately 60 players on hand for the midnight practice.
The Bloodhounds are coming off a 5-5 season that didn’t include a trip to the TAPPS playoffs.
“We have a big chip on our shoulder,” Villarreal said. “Missing the playoffs last year has us hungry to redeem ourselves and elevate our program.
“There is a lot of enthusiasm around here,” he added. “I haven’t seen the boys this ready and eager in quite some time.”
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess.