PSN Spotlight - Woodland Wolfpack Football Prepare For 2021 Season
As the 2021 season approaches, football teams are coming off the final dead week of the summer season and gearing up and starting preparations for August kickoffs. For the Woodland Wolfpack, the start of the new season will also mean the start of new leadership as first year head coach, Julian Hicks, takes over the helm of the Pack. Last season, the Wolfpack kicked off the year with six of seven wins and went 6-4 overall barely missing out on the state playoffs. For Coach Hicks, who gave the former coaching staff credit for “laying the foundation for hard work”, to build off of the success of last season, he and his staff look to establish a culture of continuing to work hard, “Discipline, dedication, loyalty and making sure the kids are held to a high standard,” Hicks said.
In a region with teams like Jones County, who won the region last season, Ola, and Dutchtown, the Wolfpack finds themselves in some tough company but that’s not stopping them from working to establish themselves as one of the top teams out of the region. “It’s a super bowl every week for us,” Hicks said, adding “so really we just have to take it one game at a time.” Hicks noted that in talking with his coaching staff, he reminded them that they will have to approach the season looking past their non-region schedule because it will be just as competitive as their region opponents. “Our non-region schedule is very tough and we did that on purpose to get us ready for our region play and hopefully into the playoffs,” Hicks said.
And when it comes to the x’s and o’s preparation for the 2021 season, Hicks said that with the implementation of a new offense and defense, “we’re trying to make sure we’re strategic in breaking down the play book bit by bit”. Hicks stated that the team’s film sessions are important to help his players prepare mentally so that when they hit the field, they are just as prepared physically. “We our kids to be playing fast and playing physical. We don’t want them to be thinking and trying to figure out ‘what am I supposed to do on this play’ so we’ve tried to strategically put the playbook in place so that we give it to them so that by the time we start the football season, they’ll have it all together. The Wolfpack will open up the 2021 season on August 27 when they take on Luella.
