The Lake Oconee Academy football team has been preparing for its third season by participating in summer workouts on-and-off the field.
For the past month, the Titans have put most of their focus into strength conditioning in the weight room and agility skill training on the field.
Second-year head coach Patrick Stewart believes that focusing on getting into shape will help his players be more competitive come season time.
“We always stress the importance of strength and conditioning. A lot of our guys play both ways, so being in the best shape possible is key. We want to be the best conditioned, and I believe it showed last year,” Stewart said. “We never had any cramps or anyone needing a break. Everyone this past max week broke their old max with some guys getting in the 400s on squats. I believe our core skill group is the best group on the field. They are our group full of leaders and hold everyone accountable.”
Most recently, Lake Oconee Academy got to put its training to the test by hosting a padded camp at Tucker Field with schools, including Oglethorpe County, Franklin County, Athens Christian and George Walton Academy all in attendance.
The event began just after 9 a.m. on June 28 as each team tried to beat the summer heat.
The camp had fours on the field for one period while the other used it as recovery time. Each team scrimmaged one another in a round-robin format, getting about 15 minutes on offense and defense against each other.
Lake Oconee Academy seemed to find its identity halfway through the morning after a competitive match against Franklin County. The Titans used that momentum to finish strong against the Patriots of Oglethorpe County.
Stewart acknowledged that his team is well-prepared, mostly due to the work of his coaching staff, and that they are an instrumental part of the progression of the Titans’ program.
“My coaching staff is amazing. These men know how to lead the right way and instill the same vision. All of them coach more than football, so they have been grinding with the majority of these guys year-round, as we require every football player to play more than one sport,” Stewart said. “We work so hard from May to November with countless extra hours to put these guys in the best position to win. I am excited to take this year on with these guys, and I appreciate them so much and their sacrifice to make this LOA football program the best it can be.”
Looking ahead, Lake Oconee Academy has five to six more weeks of preparation before the Titans’ road season opener against George Walton Academy.
At that time, Stewart wants to continue to develop his players' skills on the field, but more importantly, he wants to continue to develop young men through faith and consistency.
“The main thing I want to accomplish is to develop young men in Christ. The best goal for me would be to get every one of these guys equipped to lead others to Christ,” Stewart said. “Secondly, I would love for these guys to accomplish the goal of staying 100 percent attendance for the month of July workouts and camp. This past June we had 38 out of the 43 be at every summer workout. That is so vital for the season because the only way these guys can grow and be ready is to undergo extremely hard training and do it consistently.”