By MARK MOLINA, Staff Writer
The Hanna High School Golden Eagles, like most teams are eager to get throw on helmets and get back in the full swing of football season.
But before the Eagles can really turn it loose, they must first cross the T’s and dot the I’s that come with personnel changes and the doldrums of summer.
“We still have some things to do conditioning-wise and other than that, we’re installing some additions to our defense and we have a whole different offense,” Hanna head football coach Mark Guess said. “There’s a lot of learning going on right now and that usually slows things down, but that’s okay. Once we get it going, we’ll be at full speed.”
Helping that process along is a pair of first-year assistants as offensive coordinator Steve Marroquin and defensive coordinator JC Ramirez put their handprints on the Hanna game plan.
But despite a learning curb during day-to-day activity, the players are taking it all in stride and are simply enjoying the football atmosphere as they are brought up to speed.
“We have some new coordinators, but we believe in the system and we should be good. Senior quarterback Joe Cavazos said. “We just want to learn the new plays and get comfortable in the new offense and the same goes for those on defense as we get familiar with their new scheme.
“We’re getting to know the coaches and they’re getting to know us.”
Catching on to new schemes on the fly, however, hasn’t been the easiest thing for all the Eagles, but most have caught on quickly and feel it will pay off.
“These changes are coming really fast but we adapted to coach Ramirez over here and the offense is putting in work,” senior safety Matthew Garcia said. “It’s been really good and we’re eager to show what we have … we’re going to show it in a couple of weeks.
“Mentally, we’re good and physically, we still need some work, but I think we’ll be ready to scrimmage (Brownsville Veterans Memorial) next week.”
As far as attendance and conditioning, the Eagles are getting accustomed to a full practice routine as Guess said most of the players reported mostly in good shape to start the week.
“It’s early and the first couple of days, everyone is excited, but usually by the time we get to the third day, the soreness has set in,” Guess said. “They realize they have to do a better job of eating right and making sure they’re well hydrated. As long as they do that, we’re keeping them on the field — we haven’t had any issues with that yet. We just have to make sure to keep working to get better every day.”
A big reason for the jump on conditioning was the attendance and effort at the summer program, which Guess hopes will make a difference not only throughout the first week, but the entire season as well.
“We did good at getting a lot stronger this year and I think we got a little bit faster,” Guess said. “The first few days are always slow, but once we get the pads on, we’ll see a lot more excitement and the guys will be ready to bang against the offense so we can see what kind of a difference that strength has made.
“Hopefully, all that carries over into games and the results of our games.”