BAKER — Fourth-year Baker School football Coach Matt Brunson says he looks forward to Wednesday afternoon, when the Gators practice in full gear for the first time this spring.
"It's going to be fun when we get in gear with these guys," he said. "With helmets and no gear (shoulder pads) on, all you can do is teach them and make sure they don't bump and bruise anybody's shoulders. But when we get the pads on them, we will start sorting them out (finding out who can play)."
The Gators opened spring practice on Friday at Doug Griffith Memorial Stadium's field, which showed few signs of record flooding that soaked the area just two days before.
The absence of starting quarterback Jon Beck and assistant coaches David Oglesby and Rusty Oglesby, who were at the state track meet, might have affected the practice more than the heavy rain two days earlier, Brunson indicated.
"Overall, our guys did well and it was important to get a first day of no pads in so we can move toward getting in pads," Brunson said.
It was a "great" first day, he said, despite the flood.
Then again, he said, "… our learning and techniques are going to be fine because these kids have been working all the time (in P.E.)."
Randy Dickson is the Crestview News Bulletin’s sports editor. Email him at randyd@crestviewbulletin.com, tweet him @BigRandle, or call 682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Brunson anticipates practicing in gear, sorting players