TURNERS FALLS — With the beginning of preseason camp designated to strictly conditioning, Franklin Tech head football coach Joe Gamache is making sure his team will be among the best-conditioned in the Intercounty League North when games start next month.
The longtime Eagles coach started Monday’s two-hour practice with a run, followed by different running and agility drills.
After that, the true fun began.
A staple of the Franklin Tech program during Gamache’s tenure, the Eagles ventured into the woods behind the practice field, where they trained doing hill sprints.
“It’s sort of an every year thing,” Gamache said. “We do them a favor, we get them out of the sun where it’s shaded and we work twice as hard.”
Sets of brush and trees split the hill in half, with players walking down the narrow dirt terrain before doing a full-go sprint up the other side, repeating this four times.
After, players did the same routine, but instead of sprinting up the hill, they army crawled their way up.
“He’s done it for 18 years since he’s been here,” senior Colby Mailloux said of Gamache. “It’s kind of a tradition.”
After the hill sprints, Gamache moved his squad over to a shorter, but steeper hill in the woods.
The hill measures only about 10 yards long, but is at a 70-degree angle, forcing players to drive their legs to make it up without the use of their hands. Players went through in groups of four, going up four times before completion.
While in the moment players don’t enjoy the hard work in the woods, it pays off as the season goes on. The Eagles are typically one of the better-conditioned teams in Franklin County.
“We’ve gotten many compliments on that,” Mailloux said. “I’ve heard a lot of parents say our kids can last longer in a game than a lot of teams. It shows on the field.”
Upon returning to the field from the woods, players ran sprints. That was followed by pushups and sit-ups to close out the two-hour session.
While Gamache felt his team got in some good work on the day, they have a long ways to go before they are in game shape.
“The kids are working hard,” Gamache said. “We are not anywhere near where I’d like to be in terms of being in shape but they’re working hard. The good news this year is there’s an extra week before our first game so we’ll have a little extra time this year to get game-ready. We’re pretty far from it, I’m sure everyone is at this point, but we’re definitely further behind from where we’d like to be.”
Just under 40 athletes were in attendance for Monday’s practice, which puts them in good shape in terms of number of bodies compared to the rest of the league.
That number will allow the Eagles to have a bench to spare the starters when they need a rest. Still, Gamache emphasized the conditioning aspect as most players play both sides of the ball, forcing them to be prepared to play the majority of the snaps on any given night.
“Just like anybody else, we’re a little more fortunate in terms of number of bodies right now than some of the schools around us,” Gamache said. “We’re in the same boat as everyone else in terms of how many kids are playing and on the field. It’s super important we get them in the best shape they possibly can because the majority of the kids play on both sides of the ball.”
For players like wing back Hunter Wozniak, the conditioning done during the preseason gives him the confidence to be able to play both ways during the season.
“When there’s a chance to get a breather, it’s nice,” Wozniak said. “If we have to push it out, we will do that.”
The Eagles feel if they are in top shape going into the season, they will be able to overtake teams in the fourth quarter when their opponents begin to wear out.
“I don’t know the last time I got a breather,” senior Bailey Young said. “Fourth quarter, overtime you’ve got to have the conditioning. Whoever is most conditioned is going to come out on top.”
While pure conditioning practice is useful, Gamache is excited for his team to strap the pads on and start playing football.
“These conditioning practices serve a purpose, but we’re pretty young,” he said. “It’ll be nice to start implementing what we do offensively and defensively. Unfortunately we have to go through this first.”
• Across the Powertown, the story was a bit different at Turners Falls High School for practice on Monday.
Recorder columnist Chip Ainsworth was in attendance for the Thunder’s first preseason gathering at the Bourdeau Fields Complex, and while nearly 40 players were suited up at Franklin Tech, the number sat at just 10 for TFHS.
Turners head coach Chris Lapointe is asking for more players to join, and fast, if there’s going to be a season for one of the area’s proudest programs.
“They’re asking they’re friends, I have alumni asking kids, teachers asking kids, everyone’s asking,” Lapointe said. “I don’t know what else I can do.”
Senior Jaden Whiting is part of that marketing effort. The all-everything Whiting does not want to miss out on his final season in blue and white.
“We’ve asked everyone and they say maybe, or just ignore you,” Whiting said.