Players go to work at Braswell

The players who will line up for Braswell High School’s inaugural football season this fall are working out together for the first time in a strength and speed camp at nearby Navo Middle School.

The new high school pulled kids from Denton High and Denton Ryan.

Braswell’s “Red Dawn” camp began its second week Monday. Rain over the weekend forced the Bengals to work indoors.

Offensive coordinator Colin Strahan, 23, is heading up the camp and is eager to get the players ready for the upcoming season. Bengals players will report for workouts on Aug. 1.

“We only have four weeks left, so the biggest deal for us is getting everybody together and becoming a team,” Strahan said.

“We do things a little different around here. Our tempo is fast, especially in the weight room. We’re always moving. Our kids aren’t used to that, so we want to get them up to speed.”

Braswell High, Denton ISD’s fourth high school, will be ready for the start of the 2016-17 school year in August. The school will serve the cities and developments along the U.S. 380 corridor, including Cross Roads and Providence Village.

Red Dawn program consists of kettle bell stations, abdominal and core stretching exercises and rotating circuits in the weight room.

“We’re doing lifts that not a lot of people do, auxiliary lifts that are a little bit different,” he said. “Some of these kids have never been sore like this before.”

So far Strahan is pleased with the shape of his players, but he understands there’s a long way to go.

“We’ve got some really good looking kids,” he said. “We obviously want to put some muscle mass on them, get them faster.”

Strahan and the rest of the coaching staff want to build a foundation of trust with the players.

“They’ve got to be coachable. We want to gain their trust, knowing that we want the best for them,” Strahan said. “We’re going to coach them hard; we’re going to hold them accountable.

“The culture that we’re building here is to work hard wherever we go and the wins will follow.”