Gatewood’s football team continued its busy summer workout schedule this week.
The Gators are in the weight room and conditioning on the field, hoping their efforts will pay off on the gridiron this fall. They also participated in two 7-on-7 camps, facing teams like Windsor Academy, Warren County, and Trinity Christian. The summer workouts helped them prepare for the heat.
Gatewood head coach Jeff Ratliff said he’s seen progress in just a short time.
“We had a really good month of June, and we’ve had four good weeks of lifting. We’ve been going at it Monday through Thursday for about two-and-a-half hours every day,” Ratliff said. “We mix in conditioning with weights, and we’ve gotten some good leadership from the seniors this summer.”
The Gators will be young this season, with only nine seniors on the roster, including Jackson Lundy, Ben Brannen, Mason Sinclair, Lake Ferman, Sawyer Adkinson, Jake Carnes, Colt Jenkins, Mikey Padula III, and Drew Clevenger.
Ratliff said his seniors know how to lead, so he’s counting on them to step up and help the team succeed this year.
“They’ve been doing a good job. They set the example every day,” he stated. “If you’ve ever talked with me before, you know how I depend on my seniors.
“The seniors are the ones who get everything going. They keep the locker room straight and set the example on the field. Those guys are the ones the younger guys can follow,” Ratliff continued. “We’re successful when they do that. They’re really important to our team, and I tell them that on a daily basis. They know what a good leader is.”
Gatewood was one game shy of making it to the GIAA Class AA state championship game last season. The Gators were knocked out of the playoffs by eventual runner-up Southwest Georgia Academy.
The Warriors defeated Gatewood 46-13 before losing to state champion Brentwood, the Gators’ biggest rival.
That semifinal loss left a bad taste in the team’s mouth heading into the offseason and summer.
Ratliff said he doesn’t want his players to think that way, though. The veteran coach wants his players to focus on what they’re doing now, which is setting the tone in the weight room and on the practice field.
“I mean, wins and losses are obviously important. You’ve got to put some wins together to have a successful program,” Ratliff said. “We know who’s good in our division, and last year, Southwest Georgia knocked us out. They had a good team, and I thought they beat us at the line of scrimmage. So, we need to ensure that we do that — that’s the biggest thing.
“We need to control the line of scrimmage, execute our game plan, and get back to running the option effectively while playing solid defense. You’ve got to be able to stop the run. I don’t think we did any of that very well last year,” he added. "At times, we were successful, and that’s how we put wins on the board; other times, we came up short. We know that a key to success is just executing, and it all starts in the weight room. It begins with strength, being able to do things fundamentally right.
That’s what the summer and early season are all about — focusing on those small details. And that’s as much on me and my staff as it is on my players, so we must do a good job. And I’ve got to improve, too.”