Coaches Corner with Coach Charley Drum
Hawk Football is underway as Canyon Lake completed their third day of practices this Wednesday.
The ReSporter had some time with Head Coach Charley Drum and wanted to share some of his thoughts for this upcoming season.
The ReSporter: Where is your team at this time compared to last year?
Coach Drum: “We are way ahead on the offensive side of the ball.”
The ReSporter: I noticed your practice today ending with some work on special teams. The way you had some games lost based on that part of the game, is this a new emphasis?
Coach Drum: “Actually, we were trying to install a new offense last season, so we did not have a chance to spend as much time with special teams. We are finding that we can have more time to concentrate on special teams this year.”
The ReSporter: This time last year you did not have a kicker to count on and then Thorpe took that part of your game starting in your second game. How is that going this season?
Coach Drum: “We know we have Thorpe and that will help us big time, we don’t have a punter set yet but we have several players that we know will be able to win that job this fall.”
The ReSporter: Tell us more about the offense and what we might expect this season.
Coach Drum: “We will play a lot quicker and we should be crisper earlier in the season. We are further ahead right now and it took us until our fourth or fifth game last year.”
The ReSporter: Defensively you lost some players in the backfield to graduation, what will be your expectations in that area?
Coach Drum: “This will give our sophomores a chance to step up and it will present some real opportunities for those players. Brandon Courtney had his track season really boost his confidence and his bodied matured, so we have some players we can count on.
We will have a good linebacker corp coming this year, but we will have some holes to fill in our defensive line.”
The ReSporter: What are you wanting to see from the players this season?
Coach Drum: “A killer instinct. We have to be good up front and we have suffered in that part of our game when the Grooms and Kopecky’s of the world graduated.”
The ReSporter: Coach any final thoughts?
Coach Drum: “We have 50 kids out for our Freshman class and that is the largest Freshman class we have ever had.”
The ReSporter: Thanks Coach we look forward to covering those Freshman Hawks and will get back with you as the season takes off.