All business. No taking reps off. It is all business.
As soon as the Fayetteville-Manlius football team hopped on the bus after their scrimmage with Jamesville-DeWitt and Baldwinsville, it was officially game week and time to prepare for Corcoran and Corcoran only.
Players knew that there were no more four-hour practices; that there was no more fun and games during practice; and that field time wasn’t guaranteed and would mostly just go to the guys who will see the field come game day.
And all of that has been and will be true throughout the season.
Practice is just like it will be when school starts next week. Same time. Same routine. Different gameplans for a different opponent.
The Hornet coaches are just like teachers who are preparing their students for a test. They’re not focused on anything but Cocoran.
Head coach Paul Muench and his assistants are reminding the veterans and teaching the younger players what game week is all about and how nobody but them sees what goes into a football game.
Muench’s assistants, Ray O’Brien, Dan Conley, and Ryan Aldrich have spoken to the players and have emphasized the importance of watching film and learning their positions as well as the positions of the players whom they will be going one-on-one with.
The seniors and experienced juniors are setting the tone each minute of practice and have created an atmosphere that is different from the mood of the first few weeks of practice.
F-M’s returning players, especially the captains, have made sure that this week of practice is much more intense than it was at the beginning of the season and have worked with the coaches to bring about a sense of urgency.
They have reminded their inexperienced teammates that practices are really important and every player must find the energy or the enthusiasm to make the team better .
Both coaches and players have found a way to prepare for Corcoran while reflecting on the scrimmage, which had some mistakes that, though small, could be the difference between winning and losing the game.
Throughout the week, the Hornets will continue to prepare for their season opener, which is at Corcoran at 6 on Friday.
