VALDOSTA —
The new era of Valwood football has officially begun. The Valiants hit the practice field twice Monday, using the unseasonably cool weather in the morning and the evening to hold their first two practices of the fall.
“It was cool,” Valwood head coach Ashley Henderson said. “We had a great temperature. It was upbeat. I thought we competed well and the tempo was good. I thought we were trying to practice fast.”
The Valiants will hold two-a-days the rest of the week, and will be using the Valwood gymnasium as the teams sleeping area at night.
Much like schools that play under the Georgia High School Association, Valwood is under strict heat guidelines, thus leading to the team’s practices in the morning and in the evening.
When the heat was at its highest, the Valiants were inside the gymnasium resting and relaxing with various activities and team building excerises. At night, the Valiants underwent a character education program taught by Henderson.
“We are going to co-exist at night and learn to play together during the day,” said Henderson of camp. “Just as important as winning football games is what kind of athletes we are sending out there. We want to make sure we are sending out top-notch kids when they get done with our football program.”
The Valiants are able to hold two-a-days on consecutive days, unlike GHSA schools which are required to take a day off between two-a-day practices. Valwood is not able to practice more than four hours in a single day, according to GISA rules.
“Everybody has the same heat policy,” Henderson said. “So we are out there with the web bulb, but where it is different, (GHSA schools) have the five-day acclimation period. We actually, (the GISA) tells us when we can wear full pads.”
Valwood is eligible to wear full pads Wednesday, but is able to practice in shells (helmets and shoulder pads) on Monday and today.
Henderson said there are 33 players attending camp, with the most recent addition being made Sunday. That current number is nine more players than what the Valiants had for spring practice in May.
“The past two years we have been right there on the cusp of winning big,” Henderson said, “and there are a lot of people that want to come and be a part of it. We kind of hit it at the right time, with the perfect storm.”
Under Henderson, the Valiants are implementing a new passing style offense. To help prepare for that offensive change, Valwood has been throwing against teams throughout the summer, including GHSA Class A member Lanier County.
Valwood has plenty of experience coming back this season. A core nucleus of seniors led by offensive linemen Aulden Bynum and Griffin Clyatt and skill players Rashad Mathis and Khary Paige all return for the favored Valiants.
“We have a number of multi-year starters coming back, on both sides of the ball,” Henderson said. “We will go as far as those seniors will take us.”
A longtime assistant at Valdosta High, Henderson said he had to adjust to the smaller numbers at Valwood, especially with how practices are structured.
“It’s like I told somebody the other day, you don’t really understand what 24 kids look like on a football field,” Henderson said. “You are trying to go inside drill and you have Aulden Bynum against an 8th grader and you end up in trouble doing that. So you end up doing a lot of half line stuff. You have to be creative.”
Valwood opens its regular season Aug. 24 against Windsor Forest. The Valiants will scrimmage Tift Area Academy Aug. 17, a game that will likely draw much attention as both Henderson and Tift Area head coach Ryan Branch were members of Valdosta’s coaching staff last season.
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Valwood quarterback Jake Lastinger throws a pass during warmups. Ed Hooper | The Valdosta Daily Times
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valwood football3.jpg Ed Hooper | The Valdosta Daily Times
Discussion
Valiants open camp
Valwood holds first football practices of fall
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