By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
The Carlisle Bison took the field Monday with a large group of seniors, lots of earlier preparation and good numbers. It all resulted in a great first two days of practice.
Head coach Scott Waymire credits the seniors for setting the positive tone and the fast tempo.
“Having a good group of seniors is always a good thing,” Waymire said. “They set a good tempo and everything was really positive. The guys hopped around. You know battling the heat that everyone’s had to battle so far is tough, but our guys kept a good tempo and did a really good job.”
Effort in the heat and execution in the heat can sometimes be two different things. Waymire believes his bunch did well at both.
“Like anybody else, you start pretty good then you have to fight the fatigue, fight that sun bearing down on you and you lose concentration. I don’t think we did that. The kids were still excited towards the end of practice and kept up that concentration, and we hope to do that in the fourth quarter too.”
Again, Waymire gave most of the credit for the high spirits and focus to his seniors.
“I’ve been pleased with the whole group of seniors,” Waymire said. “Everybody’s getting shots, everybody’s getting reps. These 14 seniors have stepped up and done the job. If they carry that throughout the season, good things are bound to happen.”
Carlisle took part in Pulaski Academy’s 7-on-7 league over the summer, and also hosted two team camps which were mostly made up of much larger schools.
Teams like Pulaski Academy, West Memphis and Lonoke were on hand for the Bison team camp, along with smaller schools like DeWitt and England.
“It was a good mixture,” Waymire said. “We tried to get our kids to go against good competition. We think that’s what makes us better to line up against those teams. Those teams have some speed and size that we may not see all year long. It makes them understand the importance of things like leverage, and all those things you don’t always think about.”
Waymire’s bunch came through the camps injury free, and should be well-prepared for the first day of pads, which will be either Thursday or Friday.
“Our guys are used to contact, we just have to get back to carrying those pads. We’re going to just see where we are when the time comes. We may go full pads on Thursday and we may just do shorts and shoulder pads, then go full pads on Friday.”
