High school football ready to hit practice field

Once again, football is in the Lowcountry air.

The first practices of the 2016 high school season commence Thursday, as four SCISA teams hit the field for morning workouts. John Paul II coach Kevin Wald claimed the distinction of blowing the first whistle, setting a 7 a.m. start for the Golden Warriors.

It wasn’t necessarily designed to be first, but Wald isn’t arguing.

“It’s what has always worked for us,” said Wald, who migrated over from Hilton Head Prep to guide the Golden Warriors into their first season of 11-man football.

“We did our (summer) lifting and conditioning early in the morning. We want to keep our same routine as much as we can. Obviously once school starts that’ll change, but we want to get out and beat the heat the best we can.”

The other three programs won’t be far behind in trying to get a workout finished before Thursday’s temperatures start to take off. Prep and Thomas Heyward will get underway at 8 a.m., with Hilton Head Christian starting at 8:30.

Public schools must wait until Friday to begin their preseason prep, though Bluffton again will waste no time with its second Midnight Madness practice. The one-hour workout caps an evening that includes parent meetings and a late-night movie.

The others will wait until sunup, though not much afterward.

Thursday also ends a long hiatus for new Hilton Head Prep coach Dave Adams, who is returning to the sideline for the first time in nine years after stepping aside as Bluffton’s athletics director.

“I’m very anxious,” said Adams, who even after spring ball and summer sessions with the Dolphins is itching to see what he has.

“Ever since I accepted this position, I’ve been starting to get back into that coach mentality — dreaming up plays, waking up in the middle of the night with plays. That’s the part of the game I love. My mind’s been turning, and I’m ready to start this.”

No doubt it’ll be similar Friday for Rodney Summers and Fred Hamilton. Summers will build May River’s startup program, the second time he’s undertaken that task after launching Westwood four years ago. Hamilton is back for his second stint at Battery Creek, but takes over without benefit of a spring practice.

This story was originally published July 27, 2016 at 8:10 PM with the headline "High school football ready to hit practice field."