The Locker Room March 23, 2008

The Pulaski County Cougar football team is at full speed with their off season program, and you can be assured that Coach Jack Turner and his staff are working the boys harder than ever. The program involves a combination of weight lifting and agility drills, all timed and conducted at a pace that has made many a young man falter momentarily as they go through the rigorous workout.

While the team is looking pretty good so far, and a few young players have made some progress, there is still a long way to go between now and the opening snap. And while the team is working hard, one thing I haven’t noticed yet is a group of leaders. This team needs player leadership, and now would be as good a time as any for some of those returning players to step up and take charge. Hopefully we’ll start to see that happening soon.

A few dates of interest for Cougar football fans, as pre-season events continue to firm up.

The Pulaski County Touchdown Club 7-on-7 League is going to be once again taking place this summer, and will involve several local teams from around the area. If you’ve never seen it before, it’s pretty much flag football, and the players only wear helmets and jerseys. It’s a good chance to see how some of your local favorite teams actually teach and run their passing games, as well as how they prepare their secondary for defending passing plays. June 20^th will be the first session, with July 11^th being the second. Both sessions will be held at Dublin Middle Schools Soldier Field from 10:30 am to 1 pm.  Anyone who wishes to come out and watch is welcome.

Also, the Pulaski County Touchdown Classic is looking like it should be a good one this year. This year’s version of the longest running pre-season jamboree of its type in the State is scheduled to take place on Friday August 15^th. The field looks like a good one, and includes Tazewell County, Brookville, Abingdon, Radford, Kings Fork, and Pulaski County.

Kings Fork is a AAA school from Suffolk, and is coached by Cecil Phillips, a native of Radford. Abingdon finished last season with a fine 7-3 mark, but missed out on the playoffs. Brookville posted a fine 10-3 mark last season before losing in the State Semi-finals. Tazewell and Radford, who were both in the Classic last season, return most of their players from very young teams last season, and look to be much improved.

In all, it should be a fine day of football, with the first contest starting at 4 pm, and the following contest set to start each hour on the hour after that. As before, be sure to watch for updates as we draw near the dates of these events, and good luck to all the Cougar spring sports teams as they get their seasons underway.