Over 60 football players are participating in summer workouts for the Golden Eagles, who are entering their second season as a club program. The workouts, which focus on strength, agility and endurance training, began on July 13 and will run until August 3 when the team starts with full pads.
The Golden Eagles started workouts last summer with fewer players, no workout facilities and a practice site well removed from campus. Now, the team is enjoying the use of a brand new weight room at its Marietta campus, which includes an assortment of machines and free weights. Field drills and running drills take place at Fair Oaks Park just minutes away.
“The main thing is we have to get in shape and get mentally prepared for what our players are going to go through in college,” said head coach Tim Freeman. “But every day they’re getting better. They understand a little more what we expect out of them.”
Coaches Frank Adams (offensive coordinator/strength and conditioning) and DeVeren Johnson (wide receivers) direct weight training and agility at the on-campus weight room, and Austin Robbins (offensive line) and Sandy Stephens (running backs) oversee sprints and endurance drills at the Fair Oaks fields.
“They guys are coming out and working hard,” Stephens said. “They’re not quitting. They’ve got real good work ethic and they’re doing what we ask them to do and not complaining.”
One of the few returning sophomores, tight end Caleb Heindselman has resumed his role as a vocal leader among a young group of players.
“With the new guys, I see a lot of talent,” Heindselman said. “I like them a lot. I’m hoping we can win a championship this year.”
The team, broken up into offense and defense, convenes at 7:30 a.m. outside the new weight facility and finishes two hours later, with both groups rotating between the Fair Oaks fields and the weight room. Freshman John Hampton, a last-minute signee from Dade County (Trenton, Ga.) where he was all-state as a fullback and linebacker, noted that he was easing into a workout routine that differs greatly from his experiences in high school.
“It’s definitely the next level,” he said.
Fellow freshman running back Alex Camp, of Apalachee High in Winder, Ga., agrees.
“It’s intense. You have to go out there and perform and do the best you can, because we have a lot of talent.”
The Golden Eagles, who will play 10 games and a scrimmage this fall, finished No. 7 in the National Club Football Association coaches poll in their inaugural season. CTC opens play with a home exhibition against Georgia Military College on Saturday, Aug. 20.
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