Took another trip to Colorado to avoid the heat last week and marry off one of my kids. I was joined by two of my brothers for hikes in the Rockies.
It was during one of those hikes when the eldest pontificated that “the cosmos is in alignment with the sun, planets and stars in all the right places.” To which I replied, “Yeah, about time for fall camp.”
This goes back to a long personal and familial history of football and the grueling preparation for the season. For me, my four brothers and father (the old ball coach) fall camp meant two-a-day or three-a-day practices under the late July and early August unforgiving sun. To this day they, and I, have nightmares of those days when coaches “tore us down to build us back up.”
Back when I was younger and “in it” the nightmares came from exhaustion. Thirty-four years later the nightmares are triggered by a not-so-insignificant decision I made as a freshman. At the plucky age of 18, the Louisiana Tech coaches posed the question to me of “play immediately or be redshirted with the rest of the freshman class?” I chose to play.
For those of you unfamiliar with the redshirt process, a redshirt meant you had five years to play during games for four seasons. Of course you had to go through fall camp five times. Yeah, I chose to play so I didn’t have to go through fall camp five times.
Presently, the nightmare begins with a call from a coach barking at me to be in Ruston on a particular day because I owed Louisiana Tech one more year (but I didn’t take the redshirt, I meekly respond). Of course, I’m 56 years old and in no shape to make it through a single practice, much less a season. I wake up in a cold sweat and then feel tremendous relief when I realize it’s only a bad dream.
At the ZHS athletic center on Thursday morning, I watched the latest group of aspiring gridiron greats check in for “boot camp.” Though time has passed since my torture, the temperature has not gotten cooler, and coaches have found new ways to maximize performance.
I have written about the ZHS “boot camp” before, but will reiterate that this tradition is one of the things that has made the program so successful. Though they may be faced with physical challenges, “boot camp” eliminates player distractions like girlfriends, social media and, since school hasn’t started, there is no homework. Nothing but football and conquering physical and mental challenges over a grueling camp with teammates.
Don’t think for one moment that the coaches leading this endeavor have it easy or had it easy when they were eligible in high school or college.
The players and the coaches are required to live in the athletic facility throughout the camp. Thirty-six hours into camp on Friday afternoon I checked into see how the multiple (more than two or three) practices a day were going for the 2026 Broncos and get a perspective and history on fall camp from some of the coaches.
Coach David Brewerton indicated that when he was in high school fall camp consisted of two-a-day practices. Defensive line and special team coordinator Hunter Crowder indicated that when he played at ZHS for Coach Bob Howell that they lifted weights, watched film and practiced once a day for fall camp but went through two-a-days at Louisiana College.
Wide receiver coach Chandler Whitfield went to “boot camp” three years with coach Brewerton and two-a-days while competing for ULM and Southern. Offensive line coach Jason Davis spent both high school and college (McNeese) practicing twice-a-day in the hot Lake Charles sun. Running backs coach Kendall Cleveland graduated from two-a-days in high school to three-a-days at LSU which he indicated they nicknamed “the grind.”
The 2026 Broncos have several spots to fill from last year’s state semifinals team.
They just spent a long weekend with more than a couple practices together. The work put in since the end of last season, over the summer and during a long weekend in late July will dictate if this team will be the next state champions.
It’s been three years since the Broncos last made the trip to New Orleans and five years since the last ZHS state championship team. Could this be the team to give Brewerton and his staff state championship number five?