When the Bastrop Bears hit the field for the first practice later today, there will be a new element they haven’t seen in a while — hype.
The Class 4A No. 15 Bears are coming off a season in which they won a share of the District 25-5A title when most pundits picked them to finish next-to-last.
Unable to sneak up on opponents, head coach Gerald Perry and his staff have a new part of the game to teach.
“It’s always good to have pressure,” Perry said. “I love that kind of pressure on me to be successful and the kids need to learn how to deal with that.
“Last year, we were overlooked and were the ones circling games on our schedule. Now, we are penciled in on other people’s schedules. We aren’t going to sneak up on people like we did last year.”
Perry will have to work double duty as dad and coach when two-a-days start on Monday.
Perry and his wife welcomed their third child on July 19.
Their oldest son, Tristan, was also a “football baby,” so Perry said he has the system down.
“I am used to staying up until 1 a.m. or 2 a.m. anyway working, so changing a diaper or two here and there isn’t that big of a deal,” he said. “My wife and I have a system down. I get night duty the first part of the week and she gets it the last part.”
Things are different for the Bears than in the two previous years for Bastrop.
For the first time in Perry’s tenure, the Bears are picked to win District 16-4A.
The Bears enter the season with a state ranking by TexasHSFootball.com.
And, Bastrop hosts one of the top 200 seniors in the state.
With excitement surrounding Bastrop football, Perry said he feels his team has built a culture of winning and that is now the expectation.
“We expect to win championships from here on out,” he said. “We had a good spring and each year there has been a little more excitement starting out.
“The kids are ready to go, but we will see what happens when the season starts up.”
Practice begins 6 p.m. at the practice field behind Erhard Stadium on the Bastrop High School campus.
All practices are open to the public and Perry said he encourages the community to come out and watch practices.