With the Wolverine football season just around the corner, preparations started in earnest this week for the gridiron opener.
Preseason conditioning sessions began Wednesday, a parent-player meeting is set for Sunday, and varsity practice starts Monday.
With Wood River High School's first football game just three weeks away, head coach Mike Glenn said it's time to get down to business.
"The more people we get committed, the better football team we'll have," he said.
Glenn said that nearly 120 high school athletes have expressed an interest in playing football this year. His goal is to recruit at least 100 of them so he can fill out varsity, junior varsity and freshman squads. If not enough sign up, the junior varsity team will likely have to be scrubbed.
"It's kind of like, 'build it and they will come'," Glenn said. "Well we've built it, and now we're waiting for them to come."
Athletes ready to commit can attend the final preseason conditioning session at 7 p.m. tonight at the high school practice field. Equipment checkout will follow at 8 p.m.
A parent-player meeting is set for 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 6, in the auditorium at the Community Campus in Hailey.
"It's really important that we get everyone there and get off to a good start," Glenn said.
Coaches will review the handbook, discuss policies and procedures and answer any questions. Parents who need to purchase insurance for their sons can do so at the meeting.
Training camp for varsity and junior varsity players starts Monday, Aug. 7, at 9 a.m. Doubleday workouts will be held from 9-noon and from 5-8 p.m. on Monday through Friday. Only the 9-noon morning workout will be held on Saturdays.
Freshman practice starts Monday, Aug. 14.
The varsity squad plays its season opener at home Aug. 25 against Fruitland.
Going into his second season at the helm of the Wolverine football program, Glenn said his goal this year is to "make it deep into the playoffs." The team finished 4-6 last year, a marked improvement over the 14-game losing skid the Wolverines brought into the 2005 season.
Glenn is optimistic for the 2006 season, but still worries about having enough kids to fill out three team rosters.
"The rumor is that a lot of kids are interested in playing football," he said. "But there's not enough of them yet to make me feel good about it. This year, what we'd obviously like to have is a JV team."
As far as the number of players, Glenn said his goals are a freshman team of 30, a junior varsity squad of 30 and a varsity team with 40 players.
"We want excellence; we want to win championships. But that requires commitment, and we're not there yet," Glenn said.
Wolverines listen closely as head coach Mike Glenn generates enthusiasm at football camp earlier this summer. Preparations for Wood River High School?s early season opener kicked into high gear this week. Photo by David N. Seelig
