Veterans Warhawks suit up for spring practice

KATHLEEN — Spring football is upon us.

The Veterans Warhawks got about a week’s head start on most teams in Houston County, and they were in full swing on Tuesday.

Last season was plagued by a strong case of the injury bug for the Warhawks. Much of their talent, especially offensively, is graduating. For head coach Josh Ingram, the spring is the perfect time to discover the next crop of leaders.

“These kids had a long off season, they’ve been in the weight room, their bodies are maturing, they’re growing up — we wanna see what they can do,” Ingram said. “We wanna put full pads on and see who emerges as the leaders and who’s had a great offseason and can translate it on the field, and get all your base defense and your base offense in. But it’s really the time for us to evaluate who’s going to lead, who’s going to step up and make plays and who’s going to be consistent every day.”

PHOTOS: See more pictures from Tuesday’s practice.

While there are rising seniors like Aaron Evans, Justin Shine, Kane Byrd and Brandon Williams who look to contribute heavily next year, there were also eighth graders present to take part in practice. While only a small glimpse, a look at the next crop of Warhawks is invaluable.

“It’s difficult with all the spring sports that go on in middle school,” Ingram said of getting the middle schoolers in one place for practice. “We thought bringing them up early, being able to be with our coaching staff learning how we practice [and] what that looks like. Usually in the summer you get them and it’s t-shirts and helmets, and you don’t really know ‘em, you really don’t know what they can do.”

“Being able to steal some time with ‘em during spring where they’re learning our system is invaluable. I told our coaches, we’re being patient with them and making sure they understand what’s going on, but man, how awesome it is that we get rising ninth graders up here for really two-and-a-half weeks with us before the summer. So it’s been good. It’s been a lot, there’s 160 kids out here, but it’s been good for us.”

Veterans will conclude spring practice with an inter-squad scrimmage on Friday, May 10 at 6 p.m. on Freedom Field.