Lowndes players working daily in weight room
Published 2:19 am Tuesday, December 6, 2005
VALDOSTA — Physical strength should not be a problem for Lowndes High’s football team.
That’s because second-year head coach Randy McPherson has made weight training a big priority, and has had his Vikings in the weight room every day.
“We’ve had good workouts,” McPherson said. “We’ve had a real good offseason. Between January and the time school let out, we made a lot of strides. We’ve got kids that have gained a lot of size, strength, and speed. Things have been real good.”
Lowndes has been having daily weight room sessions since before school let out for the summer. The sessions have been voluntary, but most of the varsity players have been there every weekday, or close to it.
“They’re in here, working hard. But they enjoy it,” McPherson said.
Of course, the term “voluntary” is relative. The players don’t technically have to be there, but as McPherson pointed out, the coaches also technically don’t have to play them. The players understand that without having to be told.
Lowndes will begin workouts on Monday. They’ll be working out for the next two weeks, doing conditioning and other drills. On July 21, they’ll start practicing in shorts, which they’ll do all week. The pads come on at Lowndes on July 28, the first day the GHSA allows them.
Lowndes will be going away for camp again. This year, the destination will be South Georgia College in Douglas. Last year, it was Marianna, Fla.
Like most schools, the Vikings will hold two scrimmages before the season. One will be against Thomas County Central, who they scrimmaged last year, too. The other opponent has not been solidified yet, though Brooks County remains a possibility.
McPherson is optimistic about where his team is at. A year ago, he found himself a new coach trying to install a totally new offense and a new defense without the benefit of spring practice.
Now his team has a year under its belt. The defense has adjusted to the 5-2 front. Better yet for the Vikings, all 11 starters return on that side of the ball. The strength of the offense now lies in its running backs, a plus in McPherson’s offense, with Octavious Everett, Freeman Stephens and Brad Johnson all back.
“I’ve never done (predictions). But I know the kids are fired up, they’ve been working hard, and we’re a real close team right now,” McPherson said.
Last month, the whole offense went to camp in Carrollton.
The schedule will remain maybe the toughest in the state. Lowndes’ non-region schedule has Ware County, Camden County and Westside Macon, all of whom should be ranked this year, as well as Southwest DeKalb and McIntosh. The region schedule will again be tough, led by the archrivals from across town.
The Vikings went 8-3 against that schedule a year ago, losing only to Valdosta, Camden and Lovejoy, three of the most talented teams in the state, and shared the Region 1-AAAA championship.