Spring football practice opens for Tift County
Apr. 24—TIFTON — As spring sports are winding down at Tift County High School, fall sports are making their way on the calendar. Namely, that's football and new Blue Devils head coach Jeff Littleton started spring practice Tuesday.
Tift County will get in 10 sessions over 15 days on the field. Work has also started in other ways, such as the strength and feeding programs.
Littleton said the Touchdown Club and school cafeteria have partnered to provide extra food for players. In addition, he said they were reaching out to local businesses about after-practice food. "We're also providing some supplements (to the meals) through the Touchdown Club with some extra protein," he said.
"We're already showing some big gains in the weight room and in our bodyweight," he said. "It's paying off." Bigger, faster, stronger before summer practice is the goal.
Spring practice won't culminate in a spring game, said Littleton. Instead, there will be an intrasquad scrimmage on May 10.
Though this is the beginning for the high school Devils, Littleton and staff have already made acquaintances with younger players.
"We've had two weeks of middle school practice," Littleton said. Coaches worked with sixth and seventh grade one week, eighth the next.
Support has been excellent, said Littleton. "We're adding a lot of new kids to the program." To help keep everyone — parents, guardians and players — on the same page, information will be disseminated through an app.
Tift County is looking to bounce back from a pair of seasons that saw the Devils combine for three victories. Besides that, Tift is going back to its old conference, labeled the same as the one for the past two years, Region 1-6A.
Camden County, Colquitt County, Lowndes and Valdosta are in the new 1-6A, along with Richmond Hill. The four other teams have played Richmond Hill in 1-7A the past two years, but this will be the first time in football for the Blue Devils.
Before region starts, Tift has five regular season non-region contests, starting with a road game at Griffin Aug. 16. The first home game of the year is against Gadsden County, Florida, on Aug. 23.
