� Photogallery

FAYETTE, Mo. - Sporting a broad smile, Central Methodist coach Jody Ford told his team after their two and a half hour practice Tuesday that he was happy with the squad's first spring workout and expects more progress in sessions throughout the next five weeks.

"I thought they hustled well. It was a great first day, but there's a lot of room to get better," Ford said. "It was fun just watching these guys move around.

"It's (opening day of spring) always a teaching day so you slow it down a little, but I didn't see a lot of guys on the ground and that's a good sign. Overall, I thought we got the effort and intensity that we needed," the head coach added.

More than 40 letterwinners from a year ago, including 15 returning starters, participated in the session staged under ideal weather conditions at Davis Field.

From the opening whistle, Ford and his staff pushed the Eagles through a brisk workout that included periods of conditioning, one-on-one instruction and position drills, and an extended segment devoted to introducing new offensive and defensive schemes.


"From an execution standpoint, we started a little slow, but it really started to pick up," Ford said. "I thought our quarterbacks started to get a little more comfortable with our cadence, getting guys lined up, getting them out of the huddle, and going through their read progressions."

The Eagles are scheduled to practice Thursday this week before donning full pads for the first time Monday, March 24.