Nearly 20 percent of Rockdale High School’s enrollment set their alarms well before sunrise for Monday morning. What had so many RHS students up before dawn? It was the first day of practice for the Tiger football team, where 80 student athletes were ready to rock for the 2022 season.
Looking down the line, the Tigers have a district schedule that features not one, but two 2021 state champions and a district that many media members refer to as the “toughest in Class 3A-I.”
Going into the first two days of practice, which went from 6 to 11 a.m. on both Monday and Tuesday, Tiger head coach Jacob Campsey focused on conditioning, but also centered his team’s attention on their offensive and defensive schemes.
“In the installation process, we like to throw in a lot of them early and have a lot of time to practice,” Campsey said, who is using the same schemes as last year. “We don’t spread out the installation process over two weeks.”
“We get in there, we go and put in everything we’re going to do in some form or fashion in the first three or four days,” he said. “Therefore, by the time we roll around to that first game, we’ve had a lot of time to practice everything.”
SEASON—The Blueand-Gold practices for the remainder of the week and next week Monday through Thursday, before suiting up for their first scrimmage of the season with Jarrell on Friday, Aug. 12.
Playing at Tiger Stadium, the freshman and junior varsity begin scrimmaging at 5:30 p.m., while the Blue-and-Gold varsity squad starts their scrimmage at 7:30.
The Tigers begin their season on Aug. 26 in Teague.
VOLLEYBALL—Unlike the Rockdale High School football team, the Lady Tiger volleyball team was a bit more literal for two-a-days.
First-year head coach Melanie Seltzer and her players practiced from to 11 a.m., before 9 returning to the RHS Gymnasium from 1 to 4 p.m. During some drills on Monday afternoon, Seltzer emphasized the importance of passing the ball, since their team won’t be as tall this season.
SEASON—Lady Tiger volleyball players see other competition for the first time this fall on Friday, with a scrimmage in Rogers against the Lady Eagles, as well as Jarrell and Holland starting at 9 a.m.
RHS hosts their own scrimmage the next morning starting at 9 a.m.
The Lady Tigers play their first official game on Tuesday, Aug. 9, when they host neighbor Milano.
There will be only two games that evening, with junior varsity playing at 5 and the varsity starting right after.
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