There are just 30 days left until the kickoff of the 2016 high school football season, but make no mistake, preparations for 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 full countdown mode.
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 few days, AccessWDUN will get you prepped for the start of gridiron action with responses from coaches throughout northeast Georgia. (Teams run in alphabetical order)...
NORTH FORSYTH
North Forsyth, much like Banks County, is on its third coach in six years with the addition of Robert Craft, who takes over for Jason Gault. The Raiders have won just three games since a playoff run in 2013 and battled key injuries both of the last two seasons.
They will remain in the largest classification jumping up to the new Class AAAAAAA and Craft said raising the bar of expectations has been a main focal point of the summer. Craft was in Tallahassee, Fla., the last six years at powerful North Florida Christian and knows how to build successful programs.
AccessWDUN sports writer Jeff Hart caught up with the new coach during a scrimmage with West Hall:
QUESTION: What did you feel were going to need to be the main areas of emphasis when you took job back in the spring?
ANSWER: Coach Gault did a great job and the administration is outstanding so it wasn’t really about undoing a lot of things. It’s really been more about raising the expectations on everything we do: in the classroom, in the weight room, on the field during practice, whatever we’re working on at the time. It started back in the spring. I think the kids have responded real well and have been working really hard.
Q: With that in mind, injuries plagued the program the last couple of seasons. What do you think has been a key area in helping y’all be competitive in the largest classification?
A: I think it’s just getting bigger, faster, and stronger. Some injuries occur even when you do all that so that’s not really something you can avoid sometimes. But, if everyone buys into what we want them to do conditioning-wise and in the weight room that will help in many areas and also to develop depth, which helps you overcome injuries and other things. Again, I feel the kids have done everything we have asked them since we got here in the spring. We really pushed them hard (in June) and they responded well. We have some talent and we’re looking at every position to see who fits where best. I like the progress we’ve made so far.
Previously in Two-a-Days: MILL CREEK
Up Next in Two-a-Days: NORTH GWINNETT
http://accesswdun.com/article/2016/7/421741/two-a-days-new-coach-craft-looking-to-raise-expectations-for-raiders