Area teams ready to begin football practice

TIFTON — While fans may be anxious to begin the 2007 high school football season, no one wants the season to begin more than the players and coaches.

Wednesday marked the first official day of football practice for schools in the Georgia High School Association.

The Tiftarea Academy Panthers, a member of the Georgia Independent School Association, have already begun practicing.

However, coach Marvin Barton’s team is only in the midst of conditioning, the Panthers will not begin full workouts until Monday when the team has camp at the school.

“We have looked promising,” Barton said. “We are still sorting through personnel right now and we are working our way through that. We just want to give them a chance to show what they have.”

The Panthers will work out at 8:30 a.m. each day next week for most of the morning. The team will then go from 5:30 to around 8:30 each evening, Barton said.

That evening practice may also involve other teams.

“We have more flexibility than public schools. If there is a team near us that wants to practice with us, we can do that,” said Barton. “Those evening practices may have us going somewhere or have some other school coming here.”

While the Panthers are getting ready for camp, the public schools in the area were excited about the Wednesday start of practice.

“It is nice to finally get started,” Turner County head coach Erik Soliday said.

Soliday said his team should be in a quick routine as Turner County begins school Friday.

“The kids start Friday, so we are going to practice every day after school,” Soliday said. “We are going to practice every evening.”

The coach said his team wants to get started.

“I think we are ready to go,” Soliday said.

School also begins Friday in Fitzgerald, so Purple Hurricanes head coach Robby Pruitt also feels like his team will quickly be in a routine for practice.

“We are going through teacher pre-planning right now, so we are practicing around the schedules of the coaches,” said Pruitt. “We will get in a regular routine Friday.

“That will work well for us being on a normal routine. It is a lot easier to find the kids if they are in school.”

The Hurricanes should have around 70 players out, Pruitt said.

Fitzgerald’s first opponent of the 2007 season will be the Irwin County Indians.

Not only is first-year head coach John Gamble getting the Indians ready for the 2007 season, he is also preparing for a move into the Indians’ new field. The new stadium, which will be located at the high school, should be ready to go, Gamble feels.

“I think it will be ready and that is everything, including the field house and lockers,” said Gamble. “It is going to be nice and it is going to bring a lot of excitement around here.”

As far as his team is concerned, Gamble said, “I think they are ready to go.”

School begins in Irwin County today, so Gamble also indicated the Indians would be in a routine of practicing after school.

Another new head coach in the area, Jim Scroggins at Cook High, has some big numbers out.

The Hornets, who are conducting camp in Florida this week, have around 80 players out, Scroggins said Wednesday.

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