With the conclusion of spring football practice Friday, Bradwell Institute coach Jim Walsh Jr. thought the early session was one of the best in his 14 years at the helm of the program.
“We had a lot of kids coming back, which made spring a lot easier for us,” he said. “We accomplished more than we set out to do and a lot of that is because we had a lot of kids returning from last year that played or saw significant playing time.”
The Tigers return 17 starters from last season’s team that finished third in the region and advanced to the state playoffs.
As usual, there was a heavy turnout with roughly 145 players wanting to be Tigers.
For the players who don’t make the varsity squad, they can compete on either the junior varsity team or ninth grade team.
The Tigers kept practices simple, working on basic formations and techniques. In addition to being pleased with the veterans, Walsh was impressed with the rookies.
“It was a good spring practice. We got 10 really good days in. The young players have come a long way in 10 days and the older guys looked good. I’m very pleased with the outcome.”
Friday, the Tigers scrimmaged for an hour and 40 minutes and Walsh said there was good contact and great competition.
“We saw everything we wanted to see in the spring,” he said. “When we came in, we wanted to keep things simple to have a good opportunity to evaluate the young kids to try to create as much depth as we can.”
Depth has been a concern for the Tigers in recent years, forcing Walsh to shuffle players around and players to play on both sides of the ball.
“We are in good shape coming in. We have to have a solid off season and if we do that, we will be in great position for the season,” he said. “We were so young and inexperienced last year, we got bloodied last year and the kids came out in spring and really got better. We picked up right where we left off last year.”
For students wanting to play football, Walsh said it’s not too late to join the team. The Tigers start summer weightlifting June 4. To participate, players need an updated physical.
The Tigers don’t strap on the helmet and pads until Aug. 1.
Tiger football key dates:
June 4: summer workouts
Aug. 1: first day of practice
Aug 6: first day of school
Aug. 24: scrimmage vs. McIntosh County Academy
Aug. 31: season starts at Glynn Academy in Brunswick
Sept. 7: first home game (Griffin)
Sept. 14: vs Coffee
Sept. 28: vs Beach
Oct. 5: at Jenkins
Oct. 12: vs Windsor Forest
Oct. 20 (Sat): at Johnson
Oct.. 26: vs Groves
Nov. 2: at Savannah
“We had a lot of kids coming back, which made spring a lot easier for us,” he said. “We accomplished more than we set out to do and a lot of that is because we had a lot of kids returning from last year that played or saw significant playing time.”
The Tigers return 17 starters from last season’s team that finished third in the region and advanced to the state playoffs.
As usual, there was a heavy turnout with roughly 145 players wanting to be Tigers.
For the players who don’t make the varsity squad, they can compete on either the junior varsity team or ninth grade team.
The Tigers kept practices simple, working on basic formations and techniques. In addition to being pleased with the veterans, Walsh was impressed with the rookies.
“It was a good spring practice. We got 10 really good days in. The young players have come a long way in 10 days and the older guys looked good. I’m very pleased with the outcome.”
Friday, the Tigers scrimmaged for an hour and 40 minutes and Walsh said there was good contact and great competition.
“We saw everything we wanted to see in the spring,” he said. “When we came in, we wanted to keep things simple to have a good opportunity to evaluate the young kids to try to create as much depth as we can.”
Depth has been a concern for the Tigers in recent years, forcing Walsh to shuffle players around and players to play on both sides of the ball.
“We are in good shape coming in. We have to have a solid off season and if we do that, we will be in great position for the season,” he said. “We were so young and inexperienced last year, we got bloodied last year and the kids came out in spring and really got better. We picked up right where we left off last year.”
For students wanting to play football, Walsh said it’s not too late to join the team. The Tigers start summer weightlifting June 4. To participate, players need an updated physical.
The Tigers don’t strap on the helmet and pads until Aug. 1.
Tiger football key dates:
June 4: summer workouts
Aug. 1: first day of practice
Aug 6: first day of school
Aug. 24: scrimmage vs. McIntosh County Academy
Aug. 31: season starts at Glynn Academy in Brunswick
Sept. 7: first home game (Griffin)
Sept. 14: vs Coffee
Sept. 28: vs Beach
Oct. 5: at Jenkins
Oct. 12: vs Windsor Forest
Oct. 20 (Sat): at Johnson
Oct.. 26: vs Groves
Nov. 2: at Savannah