A team in transition

Niko Gonzales scanned the practice field on Monday afternoon during a break from watching his teammates perform drills to improve technique and familiarize themselves with offensive and defensive schemes.
Pope John Paul the Great Catholic High School’s tight end/linebacker then returned to the field, something he wanted to do after an offseason of conditioning, lifting weights and studying film.
“I’m sad summer’s over, but I’m glad it’s finally August,” he said. “I’m glad it’s almost back to where we can play football and get pads on.”
That will soon come. For now, Wolves’ coaches are easing players into the grind of a new season, the Dumfries-based school’s first as a varsity program. They are teaching form tackling, ways to get off the line of scrimmage and how to line up correctly.
“We’re just trying to get into the flow of practice,” Gonzales said. “It’s a normal practice and there’s a lot of teaching going on.”
A total of 38 athletes stepped onto the field behind the school at 2:20 p.m. They did not wear helmets, just jerseys, shorts, socks and shoes. They ran a lap around the field and stretched before coming together for coach Carl Patton’s pre-practice speech and saying the “Hail Mary”.
They then went to their position coaches for individual instruction.
Patton, who has 31 returning athletes, took the quarterbacks, running backs and receivers and watched them run pass patterns against defenders in red jerseys.
He knows the execution will be smooth when his players grasp his concepts and execute the plays.
“These guys have a lot of confidence,” Patton said. “They’ve worked hard. They also play other sports and they’ve done well in those sports. They’ve worked over the offseason.”
The offseason officially ended on Saturday. Team members spent the evening sleeping inside the weight room and gymnasium. One player brought his Xbox to keep him and his teammates entertained.
“We brought our pillows and sleeping bags,” linebacker/fullback Aidan McNulty said. “The smart people slept on the wrestling mats.”
“We had about three hours of sleep,” fullback/defensive tackle David Emmanuel said.
Team members woke to run a mile at 6 a.m. on Sunday, then were tested by coaches on their 40-yard dash times. That came before players benched 210 pounds and squatted 240 pounds as many times as they could.
On Monday, though, team bonding gave way to getting reacquainted with being on the field under coaches’ supervision.
Players understand what it takes to win. The team went 6-1 last year on the junior varsity level, but are competing at a level consisting of stronger and faster players.
That requires an adjustment, something Patton feels his squad will handle.
“Hopefully with enough repetition and hard work, you’ll [be able] to work against that speed,” Patton said. “We have guys who have the physical speed. It’s just knowing what you have to do before you actually do it.”
The school, which has no seniors, will play both its scrimmages on the road this season, the first at George Mason on Aug. 21 and the second at the Potomac School on Aug. 29. The Wolves’ regular-season opener is Sept. 3 at home against Baltimore Lutheran at 4:30 p.m. Because the school’s football field has no lights, all of Pope John Paul the Great’s home football games will be played in the afternoon.