New coach, heat acclimation and three claps

8/25/2020

Positivity was on display Monday during the first day of practice and heat acclimation at Franklin High School. Longtime head coach Tom Haynes stepped down after his son's senior season to focus attention on watching him play college ball. So this year begins a new era with a new head coach - Matt Turk.

Turk is a positive rambling speaker shifting from lesson to quips in mid-sentance but always supporting improvement over putting someone down.

"Come here son," he hollered out to a skinny, tiny player hobbling around the field after finishing every drill dead last. He brought the youngster in front of the whole team. He told the team to show this young man some respect and support. Despite being slower than everyone else, Turk singled him out as a positive influence the team should embrace. "Three claps for this young man who is out here with a bum ankle every day working just as hard as the rest of you."

tTurk shifts from traffic cop to ball buster in the blink of an eye. He had everyone run a few sprints, sprints that were scheduled anyway, but he claimed one of the players called him fat so he was making everyone run. Heat acclimation with a twist.

He also bet a young man he could out sprint him, the loser had to wear the shirt of the other's favorite college team. So one Ohio State fan now has to wear a Penn State shirt at practice this week because he lost the race and bet. Hint on who won the race - coach Turk is a huge Nittany Lions fan.

In the middle of practice he had the team huddle around. "Spread out guess remember the distancing," he said before telling them how impressed he was with their effort and abilities in the first half of practice drills. He tried to correct a few things too. "You're heads are down in these drills. That's because you're tired, I get it, but it's also not acceptable. Keep your heads up," he told the team.

Turk said he has nothing but respect for those who came before him but emphasized it's a new program. "We're gonna surprise some people," he said. He told his team on the first day of practice that "we are going to set the standard of living today." He stressed working hard and improving every day. While working with the lineman he told them to hit the sled "like it is Friday night, hit it like you're playing [Route 8 rival] Oil City every single time."

His encouragement seemed to filter through the team and staff who kept up a high energy first practice despite the heat. Turk seemed to feed off his players enthusiasm and he just kept the digs coming, praising his big men and calling the backs and wide receivers "skinny unskilled players" which no one took seriously, though the challenges back at the coach kept coming to see if the coach was all talk. But remember the earlier story about who is going to wear a Penn State jersey at practice to see whether it's all talk.

Below are a few more frames from the first day of practice.

The teams around the region have safety protocols in place for COVID-19. Plays are to socially distance and are to be masked if proximity is an issue when not playing.
The players bring their own water bottles and maintain their own equipment.