The season opener may be more than a month away, and football practice doesn’t officially start until Aug. 15, but the Absegami High School players are already hard at work.
The summer workout sessions can bring the players together, and it’s time to get stronger and faster.
"We ask the kid for a two-month commitment,” Absegami coach Dennis Scuderi said. “We have a chart with a formula for days they have to make just like everybody else does. More than anything they are working hard, and showing discipline. Even outside of football, they are representing us well outside in the community.”
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The Braves meet four nights a week, alternating between running, drills and weight lifting. In years past, Absegami may have had roughly 80 players, but since Cedar Creek opened up, Absegami has roughly 65 kids attending summer workouts.
The Braves finished with a 4-6 record in 2010, but that was after losing three straight, including two to Hammonton and Oakcrest, which played in sectional titles games.
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Optimism is high in the Braves’ camp. Absegami returns a slew of starters from last year’s squad.
“It’s going well,’ Scuderi said. “We have a good group of seniors who are doing great. They are our leaders like J.C. Carr and Nate Ross, who are wrestlers, and Mike Ottaviano, who starts on the offensive line.”
He added: “We had a bunch of sophomores that played last year who are juniors now. We have a number of them and they have grown significantly.”
Among that group is Rashard Kinlaw, who has grabbed the attention of several NCAA Division I schools. The Absegami quarterback was among the best in the league as a sophomore, and will return under center for the next two seasons.
“He was a first-team all-conference as a sophomore,” Scuderi said. “He has grown a couple of inches and put on some weight. We have a host of juniors that started last year. Eight of them started. And we have some surprises in that class that will contribute.
Once practice starts on Aug. 15, the Braves will alternate between one practice a day and two practices a day per state rules.
