Opp ends spring training, heads to summer workouts

Enthusiasm and energy.

That’s what Opp head football coach Brent Hill said his players displayed throughout spring training as the Bobcats wrapped their 10-day tune up with a scrimmage on Friday afternoon at the high school’s practice field.

During the almost 1-and-a-half-hour exhibition, where all levels of players played, Opp worked on several different things on both sides of the ball.

Hill, who just completed his first spring training as the Bobcats’ head coach, said the boys showed a lot.

“The No. 1 thing that stands out about these guys to me is the enthusiasm and energy,” Hill said. “They’re giving everything they got. I’ll say this, I felt like we accomplished what we needed to build on to get a little momentum going into the summer.”

When asked what were a few things the Bobcats accomplished during the spring, Hill said most of them pertained to both sides of the ball.

“We’re installing a complete new offense — the pace, the scheme — everything about it,” he said. “They picked up the basics of it, and I’m happy about it.

“Defensively, we started on defense at the beginning and all of us were concerned with where we were and where we were going to wrap up. They got better.”

Spring training is a time utilized by coaches to not only evaluate players, but to see who is giving the most heart, Hill said.

“When you think about spring, you look at evaluation and you look at the base installation,” Hill said. “Then, you want to see really, and here’s the beauty of it; you want to see who wants it the most. We have 70 kids out and they’re busting their butts off. I’ll take that every time.”

One other thing that Hill said he’ll take going into summer workouts, which start June 2, is that they will start on a positive note.

“I like the positive vibe and the positive energy,” he said. “We’re still a ways to go, but that’s what the summer’s here for.”

The Bobcats will workout four days per week — Monday through Thursday — in June from 8 until 10:30 a.m. After a week off from June 30 through July 4, OHS will return to work July 7 and will workout five days a week, including Friday. The week of July 21-25 is a dead week for the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s All-Star Sportsweek.

First fall practice is Mon., Aug. 4.