The Baldwin football team recently wrapped up its summer schedule with a padded camp at Putnam County.
Last week, the Braves faced challenging competition against opponents like Northeast (Macon), Riverdale, Howard, and Dodge County, among others at the two-day event.
Baldwin head coach Kevin Patterson said his players learned a lot about themselves at the camp, while he and his staff evaluated areas the team could improve on heading into August.
“We spent Tuesday and Thursday there. We’re not where we need to be, but the good thing is that we’ve had a chance all summer to evaluate ourselves, to put ourselves through the wringer, per se, and get a good idea of what needs to be fixed in order for us to be successful,” Patterson said.
“That’s the mission these next two to three weeks: get prepared and fix those things that we've exposed ourselves to this summer and get it right.”
Patterson is entering his second season with the Braves and stated that his players have bought into his process.
“The good thing about it is, the kids are working hard, so I think we're going in the right direction. As long as they keep coming back and working with that one-percent mentality, I think we’ll have success,” he said. “We'll be just fine and will be ready to build off last year's momentum.”
Patterson and his staff spent the summer revisiting the fundamentals of the game. They’ve been working on helping their players improve in the little things that can make a significant difference in a game.
For instance, the players have been focusing on footwork, stance alignment, and positioning themselves correctly on the field during plays. They’ve also been watching film all summer and working to correct their mistakes.
Patterson emphasized that executing the fundamentals can determine the outcome of a game.
“You can't have 80 percent of the guys doing the right thing and 20 percent doing the wrong thing,” he said. “We’re just trying to tighten up that 20 percent; but to be honest, we can improve in all phases of football right now.”
Patterson highlighted that it all begins with the basics, which is what helped the Braves win seven games last year.
“It starts with tackling on defense, communicating on defense, finishing drives offensively, finishing blocks, communicating on offense, receivers catching the ball consistently, and quarterbacks making the right decisions when taking care of the football,” Patterson said. “We have room to grow in all those areas.
“But like I tell the kids at the end of pretty much every practice, everything is fixable. So again, we're moving in the right direction,” he continued. “Those issues that need fixing aren't really suited for this time of year, so it’s not exactly what you’d expect. My job as head coach is to keep refining and improving things and just try to get it right because we’re a perfect team.”
Baldwin will scrimmage Dutchtown on the road Aug. 1 before officially opening its season Aug. 15 at Perry.