FOUKE, Ark. - The Fouke Panthers are exhausting all resources to have the best offseason possible, considering the circumstances. The Panthers missed the playoffs by one game, but ended the 2019 season with a 35-7 rout of Horatio.
"Well, we're in the same boat as everybody else," said Fouke head coach Jerry Littleton. "We've been sending the guys workouts but we can tell they're getting bored. We've been doing online zoom position meetings with them Monday through Thursday at 10 a.m. We want to make sure our guys stay mentally sharp trying to get ready for the season. As far as the physical part, obviously there's nothing we can do about that."
The pandemic has closed all schools, sports and team workouts.
The Fouke staff is encouraging its players to workout daily.
"Before all of this happened, we had a good offseason going," Littleton said. "Our guys were making progress in the weight room, but at this point, who knows?"
Littleton is entering his second season as head coach of this 3a school and plans to have the Panthers ready for their season opener Aug. 27 against Mountain View.
"The kids know what we expect now," he said. "I got here last July and with everything going on, we haven't been able to have a full offseason."
Even though he hasn't had a chance to show his kids everything about how he wants things done, he thinks they have a pretty good idea. He said attendance for their Zoom meetings have been good.
"Sometimes, we've had a couple kids not be there but our seniors have taken a leadership role to make sure everyone is there," Littleton said. "It takes initiative and leadership to show them what we're trying to do."
Technology and location has also proved challenging in some cases.
"We've had a couple of kids who may have had bad internet service but everyone is good about communicating," Littleton said. "The kids are trying their best. For the most part, we've had success with our guys."
As offseasons go, Littleton says, "all in all, this is a weird deal."
The Arkansas Activities Association has yet to name a tentative date to resume play.
Whenever that is, Littleton plans to have the Panthers ready to take the field.
"We're willing to do whatever the AAA will allow us to do," he said. "We're going to show up and start our summer program. We may have to tone it back a little bit because all the kids may not be in shape. We just need to get ready for the season."