Forrest City football coach Donnie Willis says that "less is better" as his Mustangs prepare to officially begin summer drills on Monday.
Willis and his coaching staff have had the majority of the 2001 Mustangs on the field this week for conditioning exercises and teaching sessions.
"This week, we have only shown them two plays," Willis said. "We want the plays to become a part of the player and right now we feel that less is better. We (the coaches) decided to introduce the players to the five plays that represent the basis of our offense and just two of our basic defensive plays and that is all we have been doing."
Willis said, so far, the kids have responded well..maybe better than in the past when the coaching staff may have been trying to throw too much at them too fast.
"This season, we are going to take our time and make certain the kids are getting it and absorbing it," Willis added. "Both on the field and in the field house when we have our chalk talk time. We want the players to be on the same page as the coaches are. If that means slowing down the teaching and learning process some, then that's what we intend to do."
Willis said they have had about 60 kids at practice on the field this week but still have about 35 who won't report until Monday.
"There are always those who are still gone for the summer and who won't be back in town or at drills until the first week of drills," Willis said. "We hope to have most all of them at practice next week."
The Mustangs will hit the practice field for two-a-day drills on Monday.
For the first three days, the team will work out in shorts and helmets at 8 a.m. and then again at 6 p.m.
"Like a lot of schools are doing, we are waiting until a little later in the evening to come back for the second practice," Willis said. "Because of the extreme high temperatures and especially now that it has been put in the spotlight due to Korey Stringer."
Stringer, 27, an offensive lineman for the Minnesota Vikings, collapsed and died of an apparent heat stroke earlier in the week after practicing in conditions that reached 110 degrees on the playing surface.
"We are being very careful and we will make certain our kids take it easy and get plenty of fluids," Willis said.
Then, on Thursday, the Mustangs will put on full pads.
The schedule is basically the same at Hughes and Palestine-Wheatley as the Blue Devils and Patriots open their summer sessions on Monday.
Hughes will report at 8 a.m. on Monday while the Patriots will hit the practice field at 8:30 a.m.
"We have the guys we are depending on this year on the field and they have been here all summer," Willis said.
On a conditioning scale of 1-to-5, most of Willis' charges reported at about a "three."
"Our linemen showed up in good shape and that was a plus," Willis said.
Willis also hopes to build on last year's strong finish which gave the Mustangs fourth place and a state tournament playoff spot. Forrest City finished 4-7.
"We are taking where we finished last season and looking ahead in hopes of using that to get us to where we need to be this season," Willis said.
Forrest City has been picked to finish sixth in the AAAAA-East.
Willis said the team will scrimmage in Saturday, Aug. 11 and will play West Helena in a scrimmage on Monday, Aug, 20, the first day of school.
That leads to the Mustangs' opening game, a home game against Osceola on Friday, Aug. 31.
Palestine-Wheatley will host East Poinsett County on Aug. 23 for a junior-senior high jamboree beginning at 6 p.m.
High school football will return to Arkansas State University's Indian Stadium.
A year after Nettleton and Jonesboro High School discontinued their shortlived series at Indian Stadium, high school football returns in the form of the Arkansas High School Football Showcase to be played Saturday, August 25.
Jonesboro Westside will face Highland in the opener beginning at 6 p.m., Saturday night, followed by Nettleton taking on Pocahontas at 7 p.m. in two 45-minute scrimmages with the clock running constantly.
Jonesboro will take on Batesville at 8 p.m. in a 90-minute scrimmage.
The event was put together by the athletic committee of the Greater Jonesboro Chamber of Commerce and the brainchild of committee member Fred Leonard, a local insurance agent.
The teams will be playing six days before their scheduled season opener on Friday, August 31.
Jonesboro opens the season against Newport; Nettleton opens at Paragould; Jonesboro Westside faces Pocahontas in their opener; Batesville draws Mountain Home and Highland will take on Salem.
Hooten's Alltel Kick Off Classic will be played on Saturday, Sept. 1, at Little Rock Central's Quigley Stadium.
The Central Tigers will take the field at 12 noon against the West Memphis Blue Devils.
Shiloh Christian and Wynne will hookup at approximately 2:15 p.m. and the final game of the Classic will put Fayetteville against Marshall, Texas at 5 p.m.
With Wynne opting to participate in the Kick Off Classic, Forrest City replaced the Yellowjackets with Osceola for their Aug. 31 home opener.
The Ladies Golf Association at Crowley's Ridge Country Club in Wynne, will host a two-man/two-woman scramble on Aug. 18-19.
A limited number of tournament entries are being accepted for the 36-hole event which includes dinner Saturday night and prizes.
For more information, contact Kevin Patterson at (870) 208-8059.
A Hunter's Education Course will be held Aug. 13, 14 and 16 at the Village Creek State Park visitor's center, from 6 until 9:30 p.m. each of the three nights.
The course is free and the class size is limited to the first 40.
To register, call Bubba Mitchell at (870) 238-2986.