Spring practice wrapped up this week for the defending 8-AA region champion Jefferson Dragons.
Due to last week’s state track and field meet, the Dragons got only nine days of practice in as opposed to the usual ten.
But the team made the most of their time, despite wet weather early last week, as they prepare to defend their title in the upcoming season.
Jefferson head coach T. McFerrin said his team made progress over the time they had last week and into this week.
“I thought on Tuesday and Wednesday (of last week), we made a lot of progress. We didn’t have a good day on (last) Monday, but part of that was due to the weather. But then we had good practices on Tuesday and Wednesday.”
That gave the Dragons seven days of practice, with the eighth and ninth coming this past Monday and Tuesday.
“We won’t get in ten days, but we’ll get in nine,” McFerrin said Monday.
The difference between this week and last is the addition of team members who have been off playing baseball or taking part in the state track meet.
“That will give us some guys that haven’t been out there,” McFerrin said Monday afternoon. “That’ll be nice to have them out, because they’re all field positions. We’ll have more depth in practice, and that will be important. We’ll probably do a lot of teaching with those guys.”
Despite losing some practice over the last two weeks, McFerrin said once school is out this Friday, the team can begin catching up on lost time.
“We can start practicing with them in the summer,” he said. “We’ll have passing league going on here. We’ll have at least seven sessions here, so that will help them. They’ll get a lot of reps on that. Then we’re going to at least one passing league camp. That’s the great thing about the summer, because you can get caught up.”
Things will also be better with several players missing practice finally getting a chance to hit the field.
“We haven’t seen them yet,” McFerrin said Monday. “They haven’t practiced, and I know it’s going to be new to them. Several of them haven’t played football, and it’s the first time out for them. But they’re good athletes, so I’m glad they’re coming out. That’s a positive.
“We’ll find out more in the next couple of days and weeks to follow. I’m glad they’re coming out.”
