Eau Claire (WQOW) -- News 18 Sports kicks off its two-a-day coverage of area high school football practices with stops at Memorial and North.
Eau Claire Memorial fifth-year head coach Paul Kling has five starters back from last year's team, which finished tied for the Big Rivers Conference title and advanced to the WIAA Division playoffs.
"I think expectations are a lot higher," says Kling, "and I think that teams know that our kids have that mentality of wanting to be successful. I think that there are going to be a lot of competitive teams and it's going to be a race at the end of the season to see who's at the top."
The Old Abes have twenty seniors on the roster, and even though there are some new faces in key positions, Kling says he's optimistic.
"Even though kids didn't start and see the field a lot, they are prepared," says Kling, "they were running drills with the same kids from last year. They're ready to step up and be that varsity player. And they're hungry, and that's what we're asking for."
Senior defensive tackle TaSawn Burton says, "They really want it and it kind of tells the older guys that we have some people having our backs. So I believe we're going to be good this year."
"I think we're going to come into the season with confidence, obviously," says senior wide receiver Drew Davis, "but I also think that we're out there with the same mentality every game. And we're going to bring it every game."
Memorial kicks off the season with a non-conference game at La Crosse Central, Friday, August 24.
Across town at North, the Huskies are hard at work for third-year head coach Ben King. North won just one game last season, and finished 0-7 in the BRC, but King says the Huskies have to focus on improving. He's seeing a couple of positives early on: there's a lot of enthusiasm in camp, and players have a lot of familiarity with the system.
"I think anytime a player can come back, knows his assignment and knows his responsibility, it makes the learning curve a lot shorter," says King, "the big thing for us is playing fast and at the first day here, that's what we're trying to get accomplished."
"We're pretty excited about this upcoming season," says senior fullback/linebacker Deion Sonsalla, "we know that we haven't been the best these past couple of years, but we've worked hard this summer, worked hard in the weight room, got onto the field. We're excited, we think we're going to do some things this year."
King says there's an increased focus on competition in every aspect of practice.
"There are no spots that are set in stone for us and there is competition all over the field," says King, "competition makes success. We know that if guys are constantly competing against each other, they're going to get better. And that's what we want to do every day. Just improve a little bit."
"It's always good to have competition because you need guys butting heads and fighting for that position," says Sonsalla, "I feel like when you get spots locked up, some people get complacent. But since we're all battling for spots, we're keeping the energy high, keeping the pressure on so everyone is going to improve."
The Huskies have a home game to kick off the season. North will host La Crosse Logan on Friday, August 24.
Wednesday, News 18 Sports continues two-a-days as we check in at the practices of Menomonie and Chippewa Falls.
EC Memorial tied for the Big Rivers Conference title in 2011
EC North is looking to improve upon a 1-win season in 2011
