Area FB programs partake in day of measuring, motivating

A Charleston High School football player takes part in a football Combine at Charles Bland Stadium in Dexter on Wednesday.

Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

DEXTER – It’s difficult to believe, particularly with the heat index reaching over 100 degrees in the next few days, but high school football season in Missouri begins in less than two months.

The first day of practice will be on Aug. 11, but each of the area teams is in the midst of serious training now. The programs of Dexter, Caruthersville, Charleston, and Fredericktown each gathered at Charles Bland Stadium in Dexter on Wednesday for a Combine, which according to the coaches, gave their players some results to study and goals to chase.

“I think a day like today,” third-year Dexter coach Chad Jamerson said following the event, “shows our kids that we still have to keep working. We are not where we want to be yet.”

For the Bearcats and Tigers, each of those programs took huge steps forward last fall, while Charleston coach Justin Hutchings knows all too well how his counterparts feel, but he also knows the humility of falling back from the mountaintop.

“Right now,” Hutchings said, “we’re trying to get numbers out. We are looking to be more experienced.”

Both Dexter (6-3) and Caruthersville (7-4) had their best seasons in years in 2023, while the Blue Jays, which won eight games in 2022, fell back to a couple of wins in 2023.

“(The Combine) gives guys measurables,” Hutchings said. “It shows them what they want to work at. The players think they are running 4.5s (in the 40-yard dash), but they don’t understand how fast a 4.5 is.”

Each of the players took part in a 40-yard dash, as well as a broad jump, a shuttle run, a vertical leap, as well as a bench press test.

The results were recorded for future reference, not only as a measuring stick for the players’ progress moving forward but also to send to colleges if the player aspires to play at the next level.

“I think that it is really important for kids to actually see laser-timed stuff,” third-year Caruthersville coach Dom Guglielmo said. “And you get to compete against schools around you.”

Guglielmo said having to perform alongside teams that the Tigers will play this fall (in both Charleston and Dexter), provides his players motivation on the field and in the weight room.

“You actually get to go toe-to-toe and run against them,” Guglielmo said, “and bench against them. You see how good and quick they are moving, and you get to compare.”

Guglielmo also said a Combine will positively impact his players’ work ethic.

“You get a kid who beat you,” Guglielmo said, “and now, you’re motivated.”

For the Bearcats, who won the most games for the program since 2011, Jamerson viewed the day as a reward for his players’ effort since January.

“We had some kids show up today and really do some great things,” Jamerson said. “That was the goal. For them to come and evaluate themselves against other talent in the area and get some numbers on paper.

“Now they know where they are, and they know where they want to be. This gives them a roadmap to their goals.”