Bulldogs start quickly at mini-camp

By Justin Hayes
Published in Sports on July 26, 2016 1:50 PM

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PRINCETON -- 90 minutes.

That was all the time Princeton High varsity football coach Travis Gaster and his staff had at their disposal Monday, as the Bulldogs took the field for opening day of the program's summer mini-camp.

And the clock worked quickly.

Position coaches and personnel groupings shuffled around the lower practice field at the Bartholomew Athletic Complex for an intense, heat-beating assembly on both sides of the ball.

"Today we were installing," Gaster said, "a single play on offense and a defensive fit package."

"It's hot."

Indeed.

With early morning temperatures creeping into the high-80's, the Bulldogs worked efficiently under the mindful eye of assistant coaches and training staff. Each drill-down session ran crisply, and was supplemented with hydration cycles every 15 minutes.

Call it total recall meets maximum dewpoint.

For Gaster, it was an opportunity to gauge all aspects of his prospective roster, which he hadn't seen since July's mandatory dead period.

The second-year coach emerged impressed.

"Where we are this year, from where we were last year... there's a big difference," he said.

"With the talent they've been given, (they've) been working hard."

The remainder of the four-day session will be be spent fitting the Bulldogs' Wing-T offense, molding various defensive looks and sharpening the edges of player conditioning.

All at a blinding, breakneck pace.

"We want to them to practice fast," the coach said, "so if we're playing a fast team, it's not a shock... it's easier to slow down than it is to speed up."

"But we won't sacrifice execution for speed."

The camp, which also includes daily sessions in the team's weight facility, concludes Thursday. And as is the case with all area schools, the compressed workouts serve as the precursor to opening day, which is scheduled for August 1.

For the Bulldogs, it can't arrive quickly enough.