WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – Near-perfect weather greeted more than 100 West Liberty football players at Russek Field this weekend as Coach Roger Waialae and his Hilltopper staff opened preseason camp.
Most of Saturday’s work consisted of physical testing and conditioning evaluations before the offensive and defensive units split off to different ends of the artificial surface on a surprisingly cool August afternoon.
With no hitting – the players were in helmets and shorts for the opening weekend – the focus was on reinforcing fundamentals and basic concepts in a full-unit setting.
A brief session of individual position work and skill development followed before the first day wrapped up with another offense/defense period.
Sunday’s workout was a bit more extended but probably wouldn’t have been terribly entertaining to the average fan.
The session kicked off with position groups working under each assistant coach before coming together for an offense/defense period.
That was followed by the first special teams work of the preseason – Punt Team. Station work followed with individual groups rotating through jump rope, bag jumps, etc. before another offense/defense team period.
The offensive unit worked on execution and timing of various plays with no defense on the field while the defense worked on coverages against a dummy offense with defensive assistant Mark Spigarelli filling the role of quarterback.
The Hilltoppers will return to Russek Field on Monday in “uppers” (helmets and shoulder pads), which should open the door for some 7-on-7 action.
Discussion about this post