PREP FOOTBALL: Bulldogs have efficient morning

By Justin Hayes
Published in Sports on August 3, 2016 1:48 PM

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PRINCETON -- Be first, be fast.

The phrase functions as more than a snappy, be-here-now tag line for the Princeton High School varsity football team.

It's a nod to its recent past.

Courtesy of a diligent summer program, the Bulldogs cruised through a diverse, express-lane workout Tuesday, hitting stride in all three phases of the game and making the majority of its station work appear effortless.

The team's second-day gathering, held in unseasonably mild temperatures, was equal parts volume material meeting with apt student.

"It was not a true install," head coach Travis Gaster noted. "We didn't have to start at the beginning. We were able to polish the little things."

And as one may expect, the sum total of the summer schedule displayed its value quickly.

After a brisk run through calisthenics, the Bulldogs broke out on both sides of the ball for position-specific skill development.

Players fielded punts and worked in a long snapping rotation drill. Others grooved form-blocking out of a three-point stance. Defensively, a cluster of speedsters worked on backpedaling in pass coverage.

The team's most impressive moment, however, arrived in the session's 75th minute.

On a clockwork whistle, the roster reported to the lower field's makeshift 50-yard line, where it ran game-speed renderings of Gaster's Wing-T formation with speed and terse efficiency.

Impressive? Sure.

Successful enough to highlight a particular player or group? Not so fast.

"When we're good, it's because we're good as a team," Gaster said. "Not because one person is dominating. That's going to be us."

This morning, the Bulldogs will climb back into their workout gear and continue implementing exactly what allowed them to strike the ground running over the first 48 hours of the new season -- hard work.

Be first, be fast.