Long ago someone labeled baseball as the Great American Pastime. That may be so, but in the current realm of fandom, football is the American Passion.
As the Oak Harbor and Coupeville high school football teams hit the practice fields this Wednesday, Aug. 18, in preparation for the 2010 season, local grid-iron fans have a chance to renew their love for the game.
Oak Harbor
The Wildcats take to the Wildcat Memorial Stadium turf Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. The practice will wrap up about 11 a.m., then the players return for a 1:30 to 4 p.m. practice.
Thursday and Friday, Oak Harbor will turnout from 8:30 to 11 p.m. Saturday will feature another two-a-day, 8:30 to 11 and 1:30 to 4.
Next Monday through Wednesday, Aug. 23 to 25, the Wildcats will follow the same two-a-day schedule (8:30 to 11, 1:30 to 4).
Thursday through Saturday, Aug. 26 to 28, the ‘Cats will have single turnouts from 8:30 to 11 a.m. The Saturday practice will feature a scrimmage.
Beginning Monday, Aug. 30, practices will run from 2:30 to 5 p.m.
Oak Harbor opens the season at Mountlake Terrace Friday, Sept. 3, at 8 p.m.
Head coach Jay Turner expects about 120 boys to turnout this week. He said, “It’s a great bunch of kids to work with. We will be really young, we had only five seniors at summer camp, but the kids are excited and ready to step up.”
He said summer activities (team camp and passing tournaments) were “great.” He added, “We made lots of improvements and the kids are doing a nice job of stepping into their new roles.”
Turner is hoping the players “pick up right where we left off in the spring and summer.”
Turner has had several changes to his coaching staff. Brett McLeod is returning after a number of years off; he will instruct the defensive backs. Peter Esvelt is shifting duties from freshman head coach to offensive line coach.
Coupeville
New head coach Jay Silver and his troops will get off to an early start Wednesday. The Wolves will gather from 7 a.m. until 10 a.m. That evening they will return from 6 to 9 p.m.
Thursday and Friday Coupeville will practice 4 to 6:30 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m.
Saturday’s turnout is set for 8 to 11 a.m., then beginning Aug. 24, it’s back to the 4 to 6:30 p.m., 7 to 9 p.m. schedule.
Silver said about 60 players are expected at the first practice, and he is “excited to begin practices with the entire team.”
He said players’ attendance during summer activities was “hit or miss” because of other obligations. “I am just excited to get things rolling with everyone and start building some tradition.”
During the summer the Wolves took part in passing competitions at Mount Vernon and LaConner, which enabled the Wolves to implement much of their passing game and work on pass coverage, according to Silver.
Coupeville also spent a week at team camp. Silver said, “It was nice to put it all together against other squads and see how we did. We fared much better than expected despite the youthfulness of what we took to camp.”
The first few days of practice, Silver said, will be a review for the players who attended camp and “catch up time for those who couldn’t make it.”
He added, “I also really want to build off of what we accomplished at camp and hopefully get a jump start on where we want to be when Sept. 3 rolls around.”
Sept. 3 is when the games begin; Port Townsend comes to Coupeville for a 6:30 p.m. start.
