There are just 38 days left until the kickoff of the 2016 high school football season -- 20 days until the first practice in pads -- 13 until the first fall conditioning practices may commence. But make no mistake, the 2016 season got underway months ago in weight rooms, sand pits and practice fields throughout the state. And teams from throughout northeast Georgia are in the final stages of preparations for the coming season.
With that in mind we spent the last few days catching up with programs around our area to get a feel for how spring practice went, how the summer is going and what coaches believe the fall will look like. We call the series "Two-a-Days" in honor of the grinding sessions that lead us out of summer and into fall. And for the next two weeks, AccessWDUN will get you prepped for the start of gridiron action with responses from coaches throughout northeast Georgia. (Teams run in alphabetical order)...
CHESTATEE
Shaun Conley has been a part of successful football programs and coaching staffs as an assistant, including at Flowery Branch and Peachtree Ridge. Now he hopes to take what he learned from those situations and return Chestatee to the upward trajectory it found itself on two years ago.
The War Eagles won just one game over the last two campaigns -- halting what had been an impressive two-year turnaround (2012-13) in which Chestatee set school records for wins and reached the state playoffs in back-to-back seasons for the first time.
AccessWDUN sports editor Morgan Lee recently talked with Conley about the state of his new program and what he hopes to bring to the War Eagles
QUESTION: You're taking over a Chestatee program that has suffered a two-season setback on the heels of two historic campaigns. What has been the mental make-up of your players after going through something like that?
ANSWER: It was very typical of place that had experienced something like that. The kids -- and it's a really great group of kids -- were very willing to learn and get better, but they maybe didn't understand some of the things you have to do to be successful, the little things that you're required to do to take that extra step. With that in mind we've tried to change the culture a little and change the thought process. Part of that is about trying to be successful on the field, but, really, winning is the icing on the cake. What we're trying to do is create great young men, and to do that you have to do the right things because they're the right thing to do.
Q: What styles of offense and defense do you want to bring to the War Eagles program?
A: Offensively we're putting in the spread; the coaching staff we have here now, that's what they've been doing for a while. Now, there's all types of spreads, and we're not entirely sure whether we're going to spread it to run or spread it to throw, but we're developing a plan and seeing what our strengths as a team will be and will work off that. Defensively, we're trying to bring an attack mentality and create turnovers.
Previously in Two-a-Days: BUFORD
Up Next in Two-a-Days: DAWSON COUNTY
