Clinch HC Tison: Summer workouts 'so refreshing'

HOMERVILLE –  The return of normalcy provided Don Tison a greater appreciation for the little things like summer workouts. 

No matter how hot temperatures may get this summer, you won’t hear the Clinch County football coach complain.

“When you reflect on what happened and the way it is now, it makes you appreciate things a little more. It makes you appreciate getting to go up there and practice as a team and not having to worry about those things. You can’t complain about the little things anymore,” Tison said.

Times have changed for the Panthers head coach and other Georgia football programs practicing this summer. Last year’s spring workouts were canceled amid COVID-19. When the teams returned in June, it was under strict guidelines as mandated by the Georgia High School Association. 

Teams could not work out with a ball until July. The biggest change was that teams couldn’t practice or work out together. They had to be divided into smaller groups and units. That was a huge adjustment for a smaller program like Clinch.

“We’re a smaller group. We like to focus on being a team and being close with each other and really forming bonds with each other. You just can’t do that the way it was last year,” Tison said. “Being able to get everybody together, all together and having everybody up there at the same time, there’s just more energy. You get more done, and you build more cohesiveness, more unity. It’s a better team atmosphere.

“It’s really refreshing this year to come up for summer workouts and have everybody up there and not having to worry about all of that mess we had to worry about. It’s just been so refreshing.”

It’s especially an important summer for the Panthers, who return just two starters on offense and two on defense. The Panthers finished 9-4 last year and advanced to the Class A semifinals.