ROCKINGHAM — Head football coach Bryan Till smiled as he joked with the Raider football program Monday morning that everyone was on time for the first day of official practice.
The familiar sounds of preseason drills carried over the practice fields for the next two hours as the 2023-24 athletic school year got underway.
Richmond held a series of summer workout sessions over the break and has hosted three 7-on-7 scrimmages. Unlike other teams around campus, Monday’s activity was a practice and not a tryout.
Till, who is entering his seventh season as the Raiders’ coach, led players through Raider jacks before they were split up into position groups. Members of the varsity and junior varsity teams were on hand.
For the next couple of hours, players rotated between stations with different coaches before coming together to end practice on the middle practice field.
Although full-contact practice can’t happen until the completion of the sixth day of practice, this year’s Raider team worked on tackling mechanics, speed and agility drills, route running, offensive formations and lineman drills, among others on Monday.
Practice will continue this week and the Raiders will compete in two preseason scrimmages. The first is Aug. 9 at home against Cape Fear (9 a.m.), followed by a meeting with Pine Forest at Douglas Byrd on Aug. 11 (6 p.m.).
The Richmond Observer will publish a season preview, complete with a schedule and video interviews, in the coming weeks.
Below are photos of Monday’s practice taken by sports editor Kyle Pillar.
