BANGS – After a trying 2021 campaign that featured just one victory, the Bangs Dragons are hopeful the move to Class 2A Division I results in much greater success. Fifth-year head coach Kyle Maxfield was pleased with what he saw from the Dragons in their first action of the season Monday.
“The first day all attitudes are great, emotions are running high, and it’s nice to get back on the field with helmets on,” Maxfield said. “With the UIL rules in the summer with strength and conditioning and skills work, we feel like we are way ahead of the game. Our staff has done a really good job of installing things throughout the summer. We feel like we’re ahead of where we were this time last year.”
Maxfield also cited the Dragons’ growth and development, not just on the field but off, as reasons to be excited about the upcoming season.
“Just seeing the maturity of our juniors that are now going to be seniors, and our younger guys that are going to be juniors, it’s always nice to see players develop, not just physically but in leadership qualities and how they carry themselves on the field,” Maxfield said. “That’s what’s been good to see from the older kids.”
Bangs had a few more players suit up Monday than Maxfield originally anticipated.
“We had a couple of new kids show up, but not any really big surprises,” Maxfield said. “We figured our numbers would be somewhere in the 50s and that’s where we’re at right now. We want to maintain good numbers and keep everybody involved.”
As for what will occur during the rest of the initial week of practice, Maxfield said, “A lot more conditioning. It doesn’t take much to get a sweat going, but we’re going to get some good, core strength back in the weight room. The main thing is to keep installing and learning the scheme so when we get to team action we can play fast.”
