Two-a-days start Monday for 'Cats

Whenever the final seconds tick away on a football team's season, the players have all winter, all summer, all spring, to wait before they get another crack at it.

Sure, there are offseason workouts, slices of football, team bonding and all that. But when fall practices officially start, the countdown to actual football is on.

In Clovis' case, it's the countdown to facing Hobbs.

Monday, that countdown begins, as teams from throughout the area get out on the practice field, begin the process of building toward their season openers later this month.

Starting practice is obviously not the same as starting the regular season, but it's an important milepost signifying that the regular season is oh so close.

"Real excited," Clovis High's third-year head coach Cal Fullerton said. "We had a really good summer, probably one of the best Julys we ever had. The kids are ready to get going, and when the kids are ready to get going, it makes you feel it's about that time. So we're about to get after it, for sure."

At Texico, when practices get underway Monday morning, they will be conducted by a new head coach, Clovis High graduate Bob Gilbreath. After watching his team compete in the Seven-on-Seven Tournament and Lineman Challenge at Eastern New Mexico University last month, Gilbreath was excited about the approach of fall practices.

He was also hopeful for good attendance early on.

"I have to wrap my mind around County Fair," he said, "who will be able to make it and who won't."

As for Fullerton, he expects his players to be ready to dive right in Monday morning.

"First day, just a great intensity, great focus," he said. "That's something we really worked on and harped on for the month of July, just being ready to practice every day and being really excited to get to put the helmet back on. Finally."

Fullerton says Monday's practice will be split into two sessions - 7-9 a.m. and 3-5 p.m., due to new teachers' meetings. Two of Clovis' assistant coaches are new teachers.

"It's something we really don't want to do, we don't want to split practice up," Fullerton said. "It's kind of a pain, but that's the way we've got to do it when we've got meetings. So, we're going to try to do what's best for our kids."

When the players are practicing, it will be full-tilt.

"Yeah, we'll go straight into it," Fullerton said. "It's only helmets for the first two days, but our kids have been working all month on some of the stuff. It's pretty physical, it's pretty intense. We're going to get after it right away; we don't have time to come in and mess around too much. Our kids are mostly returnees, they know the expectations, they know that once they hit that practice field, it's time to go to work."