High School Football holds Showcase

The Irish football team recently hosted its college showcase, an event that the players have prepared for the whole offseason .

On Thursday, May 4 the Cathedral football program hosted its annual college showcase day, where at 6:15 a.m. nearly 100 college football coaches from over 55 different schools crowded into the Welsh Activity Center (WAC) to watch the team work out. For many of these coaches, The Hill was the first stop on a showcase tour that included Carmel, Zionsville, Lawrence Central, Lawrence North and Warren Central.

The players have been practicing since January, working out before school two days per week in preparation for the fall season. Their work started with “Speed School” starting after J-Term on Jan. 20. These workouts consisted of purely speed, agility and explosiveness exercises, and they took place in the WAC on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6:307:30 and they continued throughout the winter months. After a hiatus from football in March, the team was back at it in the beginning of April, starting their football-oriented exercises.

The team refers to them as “Irish Throw Downs”, and from 6:00 to 8:00 a.m. from April until May 4, the players could be seen competing against each other in a series of competitions every Tuesday and Thursday. Each Irish Throw Down began with a leadership lesson, led by Assistant Coach and English teacher Mr. Jimmy Pappas. Following the classroom session, the team moved into the WAC, engaging in agility drills similar to their speed school workouts. Then, the players moved outside to the football field, something that hadn’t been done in years past, according to Head Coach Mr. Bill Peebles. On the field, the team began their first football-specific drills. Quarterbacks and receivers worked on route-running and pass-catching, while the offensive line worked on blocking schemes with the running backs. On the defensive end, Assistant Head Coach and science teacher Mr. Adam Barth led the players in tackling drills, defensive backs worked on coverages and defensive linemen worked on defeating blocks. During the month of

May, these Throw Downs culminated in 1 on 1’s, with receivers lining up against defensive backs and offensive linemen facing defensive linemen. All of the players’ commitment throughout the offseason was not purely in preparation for the season. They were also getting ready for Cathedral’s annual college showcase, where each year college coaches come out to watch the final day of Irish Throw Downs. The program has been hosting a college showcase for years, dating back to when Athletics Director Mr. Rick Streiff was the head coach. Peebles said, “I’ve been doing (a college showcase) for about ten years, whether it be at Southport, at Lawrence Central or now here.”

The purpose of the showcases, for the college coaches, is to see possible recruits in person and in action. Peebles said, “It gives (the coaches) a chance to verify size, height, weight (and) speed in person, live. It also gives them an opportunity to see (the players) catch the football, run with the football and move.” According to Peebles, the agility work that the players do gives college coaches a good look at

BY LUKE SPENCER

their athletic abilities, while the on-thefield work gives them a glimpse of the players’ football skills. For the players, the showcase provides a chance for them to stand out in front of coaches from every level. It hosts everything from Power-5 level coaches to Division-3 and NAIA, so a wide range of Irish players are being looked at. Peebles said, “From the student’s perspective, it’s an opportunity to get out there and show college coaches what they can do.” He added, “If you have the desire to play college football, any time you can get in front of a coach to show him what you can do, it helps.”

At this year’s showcase, there were over 120 coaches in attendance from approximately 60 schools, according to Peebles. This number is very similar to what it has been in years past. These included coaches from Power-5 schools such as Colorado, Purdue and West Virginia as well as multiple mid-major schools and schools from Division 1 FCS, Division 2, Division 3 and NAIA.