The Iola High School Mustangs continue preparing for the upcoming season with this week’s round of minicamps at the Iola Middle School practice fields.
As part of this week’s minicamp, players spent most of the camp working on 7-on-7 drills, while linemen practiced crucial lessons on footwork and shedding blocks.
“Tonight’s turnout was really good,” Iola High School coach David Daugharthy said. “We got together last week and had a bunch of kids there. The kids here tonight, those are the ones working all summer. It was good to see them throwing the ball around and, honestly, I thought they looked pretty good.”
While many underclassmen received foundational lessons, their upperclassmen counterparts used those previously learned foundational lessons on drills. One of those upperclassmen was receiver Austin Crooks. After converting from quarterback last season, Crooks worked with quarterbacks Reed Clift and Kale Pratt as they developed the right chemistry.
“It felt great. Reed and I got out here the other day,” Crooks said. “We were running routes and just trying to build up chemistry for the season. [The offense] has different names and a little bit of different routes, but it’s mostly similar. It feels pretty good. I’m used to it from last year.”
While labeled a minicamp, Coach Daugharthy more aptly compared the offseason workout to a loose confederation of practices taking place throughout the summer.
“This wasn’t technically a camp day. It was more of a get together and play 7-on-7 and things like that,” Daugharthy said. “Somewhere around August 16th is the first day of practice. We’ll continue lifting weights and getting into smaller groups doing tiny things, but it’s mainly kid driven.”
Thanks to a strong turnout, he hopes the time he, the Iola coaching staff and players put in will pay off when they take the field for the first time in September.
“It’s nice to be able to enjoy my time with them before it gets crazy,” Daugharthy said. “Football is a big time commitment. It’s enjoyable, but we’re chomping at the bit and ready to go.”
