Kai Smalley is back on familiar turf.
Seven long months after his Park City football team was eliminated in the first round of the 3A state playoffs on Oct. 29, Smalley is back roaming the field at Dozier Field, this time for spring practices.
The second-year head coach said he has “been trying to keep my head on straight” without football and, with the end of the school year and spring-sports season approaching, Smalley is excited to have his guys back.
Smalley said this year will be a different can of worms and in a very good way.
“The most we had last year was 78 or 79 (players),” said Smalley. “This year, I’ve already checked out 105 sets of gear. We’re out of things. We have to re-order stuff.”
The Miners, sporting new white matte helmets at spring practice, will have a few new uniform features this fall, Smalley said.
“You might just have to wait a little bit and see what happens,” he said. “They’re going to look sharp, let’s just say that. They’re going to be a little bit different.”
While Smalley and his coaching staff have the players at their disposal until next week, the team is allowed to practice in pads only five days during spring ball. Once next Wednesday rolls around, it’ll be strictly conditioning, 7-on-7 tournaments, weight-lifting and team-unity exercises for the next couple months.
The team’s summer conditioning program is scheduled to start June 13, and the official fall conditioning camp Aug. 1, according to Smalley.
Quarterback Paul Flake, who will be a senior this fall, said he was ecstatic to be able to put the helmet back on this week.
“It’s been a long offseason,” he said. “We’ve put in a lot of work and we’re excited to see how it pays off.”
Flake is one of five seniors who will represent Park City football as team captains. Running back Chad Smith, linebacker John Finch, lineman Daniel Surfass and wideout/cornerback Heath Vincent round out the Miners’ team leaders for the 2011 season.
Smalley said electing team captains this early in the season is important in that it gives the kids a chance to lead from the very beginning. Park City’s head coach said the coaching staff has purchased leadership manuals for the captains and that Smalley himself goes through certain activities with each individual captain every week.
“One of our goals this year was to build better continuity within the team,” Smalley said.
Asked how it felt to be elected a team captain, Flake said, “It feels great. Feels great to know you have the trust of your team to lead them.”
The coaching staff for next season has had a few adjustments as Smalley, who often helped call the offense last year, will be the team’s defensive coordinator this season. Mike Dolan, special teams coordinator last year, will be the new offensive coordinator.
“Easily one of the best football minds I’ve been around,” Smalley said of Dolan.
In terms of position battles going into the summer and fall, Smalley said each starter will have to fight for his respective position. Competition breeds success, he said.
“I think the part we’re trying to focus on with these guys is, it’s a battle every single time they come out here,” he said.
Smalley said he is excited for Smith, a 5-foot-6, 155-pound running back, to be taking over the helm from departing senior Blake Thorne. He said Smith is one of the toughest kids he’s ever been around and that, “he’ll probably be as close to an every-down back like Blake as possible.”
Park City will be participating in 7-on-7 tournaments throughout the summer, most-prominently at a camp at BYU in mid-June. After that, they’ll take a trip to another 7-on-7 event at Morgan High School before heading to the Midnight Madness tournament at Stansbury High School in Tooele.
Also ironed out for the Miners is their 2011 fall schedule.
Park City will open the season at home against 3A newcomer Spanish Fork, before taking a trip out to Tooele to face another 3A newbie, Stansbury, in the second week of the season. Smalley had an open week in week three, but didn’t want a bye, so he scheduled a trip to Duchesne to face the defending 1A state champion Pioneers. Park City will round out its non-region schedule with a trip to Delta in the fourth week and a home game against Juab in week five.
Park City’s Region 10 schedule will be: Union at home in week six, followed by a trip to Vernal to face Uintah. The team will host Judge Memorial and Juan Diego in week’s eight and nine, before finishing the season with the annual showdown with rival Wasatch in Heber.
“We might have three Region 10 championships in a row, but Juan Diego has three state titles in a row,” Smalley said of the new-and-improved region. “We’ll have our hands full.”
Added Flake: “There’s not those games that you can kind of rest on anymore. We’re going to have to be efficient and execute throughout the season and avoid injuries.”