The stands were packed at Marshall Stadium on Friday, Aug. 26, for the Trinity football team’s 2011 home opener against Tennessee’s Montgomery Bell Academy. Expectations for the team were running high. The Rocks entered the season as the number-one team in the state, according to The Courier-Journal. In addition to the number- one ranking in the state of Kentucky, the team has also appeared in national rankings, coming in seventh in the Rivals.com poll, third in the Maxpreps.com poll, and number one in the nation, according to the latest Massey poll, a computer ranking system.
Excitement around the perennial powerhouse is predictably high. With these accolades, though, comes months of hard work, work that often goes unnoticed by the casual observer.
“We put in more time than most other schools,” receiver Miles Bland said. When asked how much time the players spend in practice on a given day, Bland estimated about three to three and a half hours.
Head coach Bob Beatty knows all about the hard work. According to the Rock’s head man, practice begins every day at 3:05.
“We have a team meeting, walk-throughs, that stuff,” he said. Practice on the field begins at 3:40 and lasts until around 5:45. Afterwards the team heads in for a film session that lasts from 6 to 6:30.
“We probably watch as much film as college teams do,” lineman Tyler English said. The evening ends with another half hour of lifting weights in the Marshall Center, from 6:30 to 7. And that’s just during the season.
“When we’re out on the field, a lot of people see us making good plays and forget the hours we put in over the summer,” Bland said.
Indeed, the off-season is divided up into three parts for the Rocks. The first phase begins in late January with strength training drills. The eight-week period consists of endurance exercises after school every day for about an hour. The next phase consists of eight weeks of strength and agility training four days a week, followed by the third phase, the summer workouts.
The summer practice period consists of weightlifting, speed drills and football school. The players arrive at 8 and are done around noon.
The Rocks have an abundance of talent this season and that raises the question of whether practice is even necessary for such good individual players.
“Oh, definitely practice is necessary,” tackle Joey Warburg said, “because in order to win and have good chemistry with your teammates, you have to go out there and figure it all out.”
Senior receiver Andrew Wall agreed, saying, “You just couldn’t play on talent alone. Our offense is too complex to just jump in and have it down pat.”
“The opponents we play are very upper caliber, so practice is crucial,” Beatty said. “There are so many things—blocking assignments, audibles, special teams—that you have to practice to get right.”
Is all the practice worth it? “Definitely,” Wall said immediately. “I have been practicing for four years now, and this is what I’ve been working for, a chance at an undefeated season and doing all I can to help the team achieve.”
English echoed that sentiment, saying, “Absolutely it’s worth it. We spend a lot of time but it’s worth it. That’s why we’re so good this year. We work harder than any team in the state, we really do.”
When asked if he felt that the team got enough credit for all the hard work they put in throughout the season and off-season, English replied, “Oh yeah. The fans are great. Overall they support the team well and give us plenty of respect.”
Said Warburg: “The fans do a good job on game day of showing up and supporting us. It’s always nice to see that.”
Still, it is hard to appreciate the dedication the players show to their sport. “The fans see the result of our hard work but not necessarily all the hard work that goes into it,” Wall said.
Beatty concurred, saying, “The fans are probably not aware of everything that goes into making a successful football team, but at the same time, that’s our job. I don’t know all the aspects of their jobs, and they don’t know all the aspects of ours, and that’s okay.”
After opening up with a 45-7 smackdown of Brentwood Academy (Tenn.), the Rocks followed it up with a 66-21 upending of Montgomery Bell. On having a successful season, English said, “I think we are already successful. We just need to continue what we’re doing. We’re not going to get big heads.”
Bland agreed. “We need to stay humble and learn from our mistakes and get better every day.”
Said Wall: “We have a team-first attitude. It’s not about the individual, it’s about the team.”
If the goal for this team is to win a state championship, it’s not one Beatty is focusing on. “I’m not a big believer in goals,” he said. “Our primary goal is to play to the moment, and that’s our next opponent. Beyond that, we’re not looking ahead.”
As the days get shorter, the practices will undoubtedly stay the same. “We try to get more done in two hours than other teams get done in a week; that’s what we want to do,” Beatty said.
The Rocks have some daunting opponents on their schedule, with games at national powerhouses Cincinnati Elder and Cincinnati St. Xavier yet to be played.
Can the 20-time state champs defend their crown? “I think so,” Bland said. “We’re hungry.”