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Change Abounds For Lake Placid Football

GREEN DRAGONS FOOTBALL TEAM USHERS IN NEW OFFENSE, DEFENSE

Mark Pinson/Highlands Today

The new and improved attitude of the Lake Placid High School football team was obvious during Thursday's first day of spring football pratcice.

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By Mark  Pinson | Highlands Today

Published: May 2, 2008

LAKE PLACID — After taking over as head coach of the Lake Placid football program in May of 2007, Tim Grant didn't have a lot of time to make major changes.

But after watching the Class 2A Green Dragons struggle through a 2-8 season, Grant, who came to Lake Placid after being an assistant coach at Fort Meade, has made a number of moves to make Lake Placid more competitive.

The excitement and changes in the attitude of the players was evident in Thursday's first day of spring practice.

"It was like Christmas Eve at my house on Wednesday night," said Grant. "I was so excited about the first day of spring practice that I could hardly sleep.
"We had a good offseason workout program that the kids followed and we're bigger and stronger than last year and that's important. After watching us last year, it was obvious that we had to hit the weight room to be able to compete and most of the kids bought into our program and I can't wait to see the results on the field."

Besides the attitude adjustment of the players, the Green Dragons will also have a different look on both sides of the ball.

Lake Placid is switching to the Wing-T on offense to better utilize its talent and to offset its lack of size on the line.

"We learned a lot from last year as coaches and players," said the Green Dragon second-year coach. "We're not real big up front and the Wing-T offense is built on quickness, deception and execution and I think it fits us better than trying to throw the ball."

Chevontray Wilson will be the new quarterback, taking the place of senior Conlin Veley.

"Chevontray has good quickness and a lot of athletic ability," said Grant. "He played some under center last year, and he knows the game well.
"Conlin was fast, but Chevontray is a little shiftier, handles the ball well and has a pretty good arm when we want to throw the ball."

Zach Campbell is the fullback and backup quarterback and will also see time at other positions, while sophomore Richard Rooks, who was at wide receiver last year, will be at the wing position.

"Zach is a versatile athlete and Richard has the speed to make some big plays," said Grant. "As a staff, we agreed that this kind of ball-control offense gives us a better chance for success than trying to throw the ball a bunch."

Defensively, the Green Dragons will switch from a 3-5 to a 4-4.

"The 3-5 just didn't work for us," the LP coach said. "A 4-4 suits us better and with Travalier Sholtz anchoring the line, we should be able to do a better job of playing defense. We've simplified things, because last year at times the kids were thinking instead of reacting when they played, and that never works out well."

The Green Dragons have around 35 players out for spring practice and Grant is getting a good look at a lot of the younger players and making sure everyone understands their role.

"I think we tried to do too many things last year on both sides of the ball," said Grant. "This year, we've made it much simpler with less plays and a different terminology."

Lake Placid hosts Avon Park for its spring game at 7:30 p.m. on May 23 and Grant and the Green Dragons can't wait to get on the field.

"We're looking forward to playing Avon Park," said Grant. "I thought it would be best if we could stay home and let the fans get a chance to see two local teams going at it. It's a different year, we've got a new attitude and a lot of excitement about our football program.
"We've got a lot of work to do, but we're looking forward to competing in front of our fans."

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