The loss of time in the weight room will be the biggest setback for French Camp Academy resulting from the cancellation of spring football practice, according to coach Nathan Wright.
“We will be behind the eight ball in not being able to get in the weight room. That is what concerns me,” he said. “As we tell them, if they can get through the weight room, football is pretty easy.”
The actual on the field time will not be as big a loss, Wright said, noting the uniqueness of the school with about half the students as boarders and normally a large turnover from year to year. “Our team may look a lot different in the fall than it does in the spring.”
He added, “With me coaching baseball, we don't do a lot in the spring. We haven't played a spring game in I don't know when. The last two years we had a little (intersquad) scrimmage.”
The Mississippi High School Activities Association canceled spring practice for member schools due to the Coronavirus pandemic that has shut down classes until at least April 17. To lessen the impact of losing spring practice, MHSAA will probably approve an extra week of preseason practice.
“That will be good in that it will give them (players) a little more time to get acclimated,” Wright said. “Maybe we can ease into it a little more than we normally do.”
He acknowledged that Mississippi weather can be brutal in the summer. “It's going to be really hot. But I do think that an extra week will be a good gesture by MHSAA. It will allow guys to get some camaraderie with each other again, especially if we don't go back to school (this year).”
The Panthers are coming off a 3-8 season, missing the 1A playoffs. The key returnee is quarterback and defensive back C.J. Johnson, who ran and passed for 1,875 yards and 21 touchdowns and had 61 tackles as a junior.
But there are some big shoes to fill. Graduation will take Phillip Caradine, the Panthers' leading runner, leading receiver Javen Anderson, and leading tackler Bradley Edwards.
