Published: August 12, 2008 12:43 am            

Back to work

Hornets coach tells team, ‘This is the beginning of a great year’

Minutes after the Hornets hit the practice field for the first time this summer, head coach Mitchell Coey looked his players in the eyes and told them, “This is the beginning of a great year.”

In a brief rah-rah speech, Coey added, “District champs and beyond, that’s all I’m going to accept. ... Guys I’m serious, this is going to be a great year for the old Hornets.”

Wholeheartedly, Coey believes what he told his team. The Hornets believe too, but they know it’s going to take a lot more than talk to take the District 18-4A crown away from perennial power Brenham.

It’s going to take grit and determination from day one to make the 2008 season special. And the Hornets, especially the seniors who have been so close the last two years, say they are prepared to do whatever it takes to fulfill their coach’s expectations.

“Dedication and passion, that’s what we’ve got to have around here,” senior defensive end Kirby Ennis said.

Offensive tackle Adam Ayala added, “We’ve got to go every day in practice like it’s game speed. We’ve got to push it to the limit.”

Coey said the Hornets did that Monday. In T-shirts and shorts for the first of four early summer workouts, the players reported back to camp ready for work.

“I thought the first day was pretty crisp. The kids moved around pretty good,” Coey said. “We’ve got to work on their conditioning a little bit, but overall I thought the first day was a success.”

Offensively, the Hornets reviewed what they’ve done for the past four seasons with Coey as the head coach. Defensively, the players were introduced to new coordinator Shane Martin, who patiently taught the Hornets their new base defense.

Huntsville will employ a four-man front with two linebackers and five defensive backs in ’08. That’s a switch from the 50-defense Huntsville has used the past few seasons. In that alignment, the Hornets had three down linemen and used their outside linebackers as run stoppers at times.

Coey was excited about how quickly the players seemed to pick up the new scheme.

“We threw a lot at them on the first day and they responded pretty well,” he said. “With coach Martin not being here in the spring, we didn’t want to put that new stuff in yet. So I was really impressed with how fast they seemed to learn that.

“We’ve got some kids we think can create some havoc and create some double teams, so we want them on the defensive line. That’s why we’ve gone to an even front.”

One of the veteran Hornets, a guy who created havoc and caused a ton of headaches from his strong safety position last fall, said he’s already a fan of the changes Martin is bringing to Huntsville.

“I like how we’ve got a lot of energy,” senior James Davidson said. “We’re still learning all the stuff and the assignments, but this is going to be good. We’re not going to be late bloomers like other programs.”

Coey said it’s crucial for the Hornets to get off to a good start this fall. Huntsville has learned the hard way that losses early in the district season are tough to overcome. That’s why he’s pushing his players to give 100 percent every time they’re on the field, starting this week before pads go on and full contact starts Friday.

“It’s serious business every time we come out here,” Coey said after the Hornets worked out under the lights for the last 30 to 45 minutes Monday. “We worked out for three hours today and it felt like one. Actually, it was pretty nice for the first day. It was overcast and not too hot. We’ll turn it up a notch and work even harder tomorrow.”

The Hornets say they’re ready.

“We’re a lot more hungry this year,” Ayala said. “We’ve been waiting for this since the last game last year. We know we’ve got what it takes to win. Now we’ve just got to go out there and do it.”

        

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