Moran athletes get practices underway
By Sam Waller
The Moran Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs began preseason practices in football, volleyball, and cross country on Monday in preparation for the upcoming school year.
Lady Bulldog volleyball season begins Tuesday, Aug. 10 with a match at Loraine. The Bulldog football team kicks off its season Aug. 27 at Benjamin.
Football
Coach John Hughes started the week with the bare minimum six players, but has already seen that number increase and expects more players to join the team.
“We had six kids show up Monday and seven on Tuesday,” Hughes said. “I have a couple of kids who are out. By the time it’s said and done, I should be up to nine players.”
Hughes said the biggest factor facing the Bulldogs is a lack of experience.
“We’ve got mostly young guys this year,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of freshmen and sophomores who are playing. We’re just teaching basic fundamentals, getting them up to date with the speed of the high school game.”
Volleyball and
Cross Country
Coach Jo Hise has eight athletes pulling double duty in volleyball and cross country.
On the court, Hise said, early workouts have focused on the basics.
“We’ve worked a lot on fundamentals, running, weights, and doing some basic team-building activities,” she said.
Cross country workouts have also been kept simple.
“We find the highway, and we get to running,” Hise said.
Hise said the idea is to have the athletes in good condition for participating in other sports, particularly basketball.
“These kids need all the experiences they can get,” she said. “They need to expand and see new things, be a part of different things and know that they can face the challenges that are put before them. That’s what we’re doing, giving them a little extra challenge.”
The strategy bore success two years ago with the Lady Bulldogs earning a team berth in the regional cross country meet.
“I don’t know if we’d ever had a cross country team before,” Hise said, “and we got out to regional our first year.”
Meet the Bulldogs
Supporters of Moran athletics will be introduced to this year’s fall sports teams at the annual Meet the Bulldogs event, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Aug. 19 at the high school.
The PTO will be selling hamburgers, hot dog baskets, and ice cream.
A $25 gift card will be awarded to the winner of the ice cream contest, which is open to everyone.
