Coaches Corner #2

4/27/2022

Last Saturday we made the hour+ drive to Melissa HS. Melissa is a fast growing community just south of Sherman. The team did a great job of getting to Lamar by 6:15 am especially considering they had spring football last week so they were probably a bit more tired than usual.

We knew this would be a challenging tournament for us for two reasons. First, we were missing 7 players; 5 due to baseball and 2 with injuries. At this time of the year spring sports (track, baseball) are the priority. The 7 on 7 season really starts in mid-May and goes through June. The second challenge was spring football. Many of the teams competing at Melissa had not yet started spring tackle football. After a week of practice (in pads for part) it typically makes for tired legs and some muscle soreness compared to the teams who had not started spring practice. It was our opinion though that the benefit of competing and figuring out "where we are" as a team at many positions was worth the trip in spite of the obvious challenges.

We were particularly short-handed on offense. None of our quarterbacks were available so we moved perhaps our best athlete Darrick "Trey" Bledsoe to quarterback. Trey is one of our best receivers so moving him to QB left us shorthanded at the receiver position along with Jaylon Humbles and Keegan Kelly who were not available. 

Defensively, we were in a little better position in terms of available players but were down two starters in Cooper Barnard and Braylon Cole. 

We played three games and were competitive in all three, particularly on defense. We struggled more on offense but really it was not a "fair fight" with that many key players missing. 

So what were the takeaways? Our effort and attitude all day was excellent. The players recognized the obvious challenges and dealt with it in the right way. Another positive was playing in a highly competitive pool, so we now know what we have to work on to win at future tournaments. Once we have our "full deck" of players we will be able to play at a "Viking" level. We have two more Saturday practices before our next SQT on 5/14 at Arlington High. Baseball conflicts are over and hopefully we will get a couple of our injured guys back as well. Now we just need to put in the work and get ready!

Great group of guys on this team! 

VFND

Coach Poynter

The 2022 edition of the Lamar Viking varsity 7 on 7 team is underway. We have had several practices and are beginning to get a feel for the talent and personality of this team. I am so pleased to report that all the coaches and our volunteer co-oordinator, are back for this season. One of the keys to our success through the years is that continuity of coaches. Julian, is in season # 12 as our defensive coordinator; Spencer in year 7 as our offensive coordinator. JR is back for season # 2 with us and has years of coaching experience in the north Arlington area. Angie, is one of the most "all in" volunteer leaders you could have and she keeps the whole thing moving in the right direction! 

Just as in fall football, returning "game experience" is important to the early season success of a 7 on 7 team. We have two young QB's with no varsity football experience. That said, both are hard workers; talented and coachable. They push each other and that will make both of them better. 

I should mention we have two coaching interns this season. Helping the offense is Jaden Morris, last years starting QB for the Vikes and who is headed to Texas Tech in May to join the football team. Assisting the D is Amarlyon Fox, a high-energy starter on Lamar's defense last year. Both are welcome additions and have been valued added right from the start! 

While we are light on experience at some positions we have solid experience at others that will help carry us early. As in the past we have signed up to play in seven State Qualifying Tournaments (SQT's) which is the maximum number available. This let's us get a lot of game experience over the next couple of months prior to the State Tournament should we qualify.  In addition, all the players will be in spring football over the next month, so they will get a large dose of football in short order.

People ask me what is the "secret" to qualifying every season for 23 years in a row for the Texas 7 on 7 State Championship. It is actually a combination of several factors:

• Consistent financial support from companies like First Rate and DS Waters
• Experienced 7 on 7 coaching staff and total support from the Viking football staff
• Community based support from caring individuals like Jay Ryan (web site); former team mom's and others.
• Tremendous desire and effort by current Viking players to "join the club"  of qualifying every season.

Our first tournament is 4/23/22 at Melissa HS. I will fill you in on how we fared shortly after. 

VFND!

Jim Poynter