Practice begins in the county with teams hitting the field under dry, if still warm, conditions.
By BOB PUTNAM
Published August 10, 2004
DUNEDIN - Dunedin coach Mark Everett spent Monday peeking out the window in between the five health classes he teaches.
With the forecast calling for a 60 percent chance of rain, Everett hoped the first day of football practice would not be down a storm drain.
That appeared to be wishful thinking as he saw dark clouds. Soon after, an assistant coach called to say he was driving through a thunderstorm on the Courtney Campbell Parkway.
Fearful that the weather would not cooperate, Everett sat in his classroom and prayed.
It worked.
Instead of torrential rains, Dunedin held practice under ideal conditions: partly cloudy skies with low humidity.
"This is what we needed," Everett said. "It's rained for what, 15, 16 straight days? I've lost count. I figured it would be the same thing again. But it was nice out here."
Heavy rain most likely would have washed out practice. Because the gym is being renovated, Everett would have to cram more than 60 junior varsity and varsity players into two small buildings on campus.
"I'm glad we didn't have to resort to that," he said.
The dreary weather stayed away long enough for other county teams to also conduct practice.
"We were able to get everything in," Boca Ciega coach Jean Gordon said. "I'm glad because the kids were pretty juiced up about getting out there. It was a nice intensity level. I just hope we can maintain it."
About the only drawback was the heat.
"The sun was out down here," Gordon said. "It was brutal."
But the Pirates are used to sweltering conditions. Because lights were being installed at the stadium, the field house and weight room did not have electricity. Players went through conditioning this summer without the benefit of fans, much less air conditioning.
"It was so hot in there, the kids would go outside to cool down," Gordon said. "I know that should have helped us prepare, but I think we were all drained today."
Dry weather also was appreciated at Lakewood.
After an 0-10 season, coach Brian Bruch said he needed any help he could get, especially with a new offense being installed.
"We need to get all the kids out here," Bruch said. "Once that happens, we'll be okay. At least we were able to get in a full practice."
