'A little bit of heat is good' for a first practice

A cool breeze lightened the mood for Wednesday's opening day of high school football practice in Illinois and Providence Catholic coach Mark Coglianese made sure the Celtics started to shine as bright as the beaming sun.

While temperatures pushed 90 into the afternoon hours, Coglianese wrapped up practice by 1:30. Although sweat glistened for skill players and linemen alike, the Celtics listened to their coaches and took to the pace.

The legs feed the wolf.

"I think a little bit of heat is good," Coglianese confirmed. "We need to get into game shape because a lot of our early games are going to be in warm weather. We worked hard, and conditioning is a big part of these early days."

Another part to the equation: covering ground that has been covered before. Providence offensive coordinator Marty Balle lined the Celtics up in their array of formations as a primer.

"We wanted to work on reviewing the things we worked hard on during the summer," Coglianese said. "So, some of it's conditioning, some of it's a little bit of game-planning, and some of it's walking through and talking.

"There are always a certain number of kids who missed parts of the summer for various reasons, and we want to review and tie up those loose ends."

Likewise, Joliet Catholic coach Dan Sharp pointed to the Hilltoppers, the 13-time state champions, punching a clock that included off-the-field work.

"We got a lot of things done today," Sharp said. "It was a pretty full day. From 7 this morning, we were outside, we did special teams in the afternoon with films and we finished around 2, with an hour break in-between there."

Last year, Lemont led Joliet-area football by appearing in the Class 6A state title game for a second straight season, finishing with a 13-1 record. Indians coach Eric Michaelsen maintained his past-is-past posture.

The mind feeds the masses.

"The coaches I have working with me do a really good job of keeping the kids grounded," Michaelsen said. "They realize what happened last year doesn't mean anything for this year, and you have to do the things that are necessary for us to improve. That begins with our very first day of practice."

-- Bill Scheibe, asst. sports editor