Day two of fall football practice proved to be a lot dryer out in Osceola County for the 7A State runner-up Osceola Kowboys.
The team is coming off it’s 13-2, 2014 campaign and is working on its offensive timing and making sure the new crop of guys are finding the right position fits on defense—at least until the pads come on this Saturday.
This year the team will be competing up in 8A and Coach Doug Nichols says the preparation will stay the same.
“I really don’t think it changes a lot,” Nichols said. “We’ve kept 8A teams on our schedule the last couple of years and it is what it is.”
The team returns 13 starters and much of a team that remembers the feeling of defeat last December in the 7A Title game inside the Citrus Bowl (St. Thomas Aquinas 31-0)-- it’s something that is fueling the group this fall.
“Yeah I still think they have a little chip on their shoulder I mean obviously we got beat pretty handedly so it’s not really something you beat your chest on—yeah we played in the championship but we didn’t show up real well,” Nichols said.
Every year the team rallies around a theme and this time the anthem stems from tragedy.
In June the team lost former DB Dominic Lee in a car accident just a couple days after graduation. In efforts to keep Lee close to the heart the Kowboys’ are embracing ‘What’s your dash?’
“Everyone is born in one day and everyone is going to pass away and on your headstone there’s going to be when you’re born and when you pass away and that dash in-between,” Nichols explained.
“What did you do in between that?’ is kinda what we’ve been going with since spring. ‘What’s your dash and what did you do between that?’
Osceola will open its fall calendar on Bright House Sports Network against West Orange in the kick off classic on Friday August 21st at 7:30 on channel HD 1147.
Click on the video link to hear more from Coach Nichols and watch video from practice.