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Highlands Today

Streaks Start Off Sharp

Chris Hoffman/Highlands Today

The Sebring offensive line hit the pads during the first day of Blue Streak practice at Firemen's Field on Monday.

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By CHRIS HOFFMAN

Highlands Today

Published: August 13, 2008

SEBRING - Matt Grubb shuffled and leaped over barriers with the football cocked in a ready pose before firing the pigskin down the field.

Like many of his teammates, sweat dripped down his face as he ran for the water bottle to battle the intense heat during the first day of Blue Streak football camp at Firemen's Field on Monday.

Heat aside, the team was happy to get things underway on the first official day of on-field workouts.

"We're all chomping at the bit to get out on the field and get this season underway," Sebring head coach Jared Hamlin said. "We've been cooped up in that weight room too long.

"First day of practice is all about getting these kids acclimated to the heat and starting the process of molding this football team."

Hamlin, an ex-offensive lineman for the Blue Streaks, took special interest in watching the current group of offensive linemen hit the blocking sled and push it up the field, stopping the drill to help fine-tune players' mechanics until they're up to par.

"The linemen are the anchor for the entire team," Hamlin said. "We're in a district that's going to be tough with DeSoto and Hardee, and you can't ever count out Avon Park.

"The team has been working great all summer, but summer is over. We've got a lot of work to do before the season starts."

The Streaks progressed through their position drills with an explosive intensity, while the coaches ran the camp with drill instructor authority.

Grubb's workout looked foreign to even his coaches, but the sophomore quarterback was insistent that these were the drills that were going to take his game to the next level after getting some professional tutelage from a former college signal-caller.

Former Gator and Marshall quarterback Eric Kresser - who led the Thundering Herd to an NCAA-Division I-AA championship in 1996 - visited Firemen's Field recently and gave Grubb a whole new way to get ready for the season on and off the field.

It was an experience that has the new signal-caller excited about the upcoming season.

"Eric worked with me on molding my entire game," Grubb said. "We went through pass-scaling and went over my plays and my reads before going over game film.

"He really helped me a lot, and it's given me even more confidence in what I have to do this season for the Streaks."

Grubb went through his unique workouts, which included throwing off-balance and doing drop-back drills geared toward improved footwork, which was an area of concern coming into the season.

Assistant coach Princeton Harris was impressed by Grubb's maturity and how he's grown into the position in terms of leadership and skill set.

"He's matured very quickly," Harris said. "You couldn't tell that he's a sophomore by his intelligence for the game. He's studying game film and he only wants to get better."

Sebring will kicks off play on Aug. 29 at Tenoroc High School. The Streaks' regular season starts on Sept. 5 when they host Martin County of Stuart.

WE'RE GOING CAMPING!

See how your favorite football team is looking as practice gets underway this week

THURSDAY: Avon Park Kicks Off

FRIDAY: Lake Placid Starts Anew

Chris Hoffman can be reached at 863-386-5827 or at choffman@highlandstoday.com

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