Tropical Storm Emily wrecks football practice schedules

Heavy rain coupled with tropical storm and tornado warnings stifled the first high school football practices of the 2017 season on Monday.

Manatee County football programs scampered to get as much practice time as they could despite Tropical Storm Emily producing windy and soggy conditions.

That forced teams inside and during the morning hours, per a Manatee County School Board decision to ban extracurricular activities after 1 p.m.

Manatee High practiced inside a gymnasium until a tornado warning shortened the workout by a few minutes.

“Safety first,” first-year Manatee head coach Yusuf Shakir said.

The Hurricanes opened their season with their first practice under Shakir, who became the new head coach on May 25.

Shakir is going with a clean-slate mentality in evaluating his players and said no starting positions are locked up.

Practices and the Kickoff Classic against Seffner Armwood will help the evaluating period.

“Nobody is a starter,” Shakir said. “You have to prove yourself. ... All positions are open. Everybody has to compete.”

Manatee also hasn’t named an offensive coordinator, though it isn’t something that concerns Shakir.

“Whether an OC or DC here, it’s still the same system,” Shakir said.

Palmetto High head coach Dave Marino used the inclement weather as a teaching lesson that could pay off later this season for his Tigers.

“It’s the best lesson they could learn throughout their life is how to handle (adversity),” Marino said. “They did a great job. They rolled with everything.”

It’s not the first time Palmetto has faced adversity with a football season looming.

Two years ago, the Tigers’ field wasn’t ready when fall practices began – it was getting renovated.

“We practiced in the parking lot the first week,” Marino recalled. “That’s a big disadvantage. But nobody cares. And that’s what you try to tell the kids. Nobody wants to hear the labor pains. Everybody just wants to see the baby. ... So it’s not like you show up to your first game and say, ‘Hey, we had a little trouble with our field. It wasn’t ready. Can we take (some time)?’ No. Ready or not, you’ve got to be ready to play.”

Senior defensive back Derrick Bradley and senior wide receiver/quarterback Jason Spicer Jr. were among the Palmetto players who made the best of practice indoors.

“It didn’t really faze me, because I know our time will come,” Spicer Jr. said.

Here are some other notes from around Manatee County on the first day of practice:

Braden River

The county mandate came early in the day, which forced the Pirates to switch their afternoon practice to the morning. Head coach Curt Bradley said about 95 percent of the players made it.

“We were as productive as we could have been for a first day in the gym,” Bradley said.

Southeast

Head coach Rashad West said the indoor practice went as well as could be expected.

“Not a ton you can do indoors but it was good to get it in,” West said in a text message to the Bradenton Herald.

Saint Stephen’s

Falcons head coach Tod Creneti said they had a good turnout and spent their practices working indoors on offensive installation.

Lakewood Ranch

The Mustangs didn’t practice Monday as their original afternoon session was canceled following the county’s ban, and they didn’t get the chance to arrange a morning session like East Manatee County rival Braden River did.

Bayshore

The Bruins were set to practice in the afternoon, but the school district’s ban thwarted that plan. They’ll aim to begin fall camp on Tuesday.

Bradenton Christian

The first practice had to wait a day as the Panthers’ late-afternoon scheduled practice was canceled, so Tuesday marks the first fall practice.

This story was originally published July 31, 2017 at 3:54 PM with the headline "Tropical Storm Emily wrecks football practice schedules."