The Dawson County Tigers travelled to Pickens County High School on June 26-27 to participate in the second padded camp of the summer. The two-day event and subsequent film review session have proved an invaluable tool, according to defensive coach Greg Baloga, and the growth between camps shows their impact.

“The team has got a lot better since the first camp, especially for as young as they are,” Baloga said. “They are coming together fast. Which is good.”

Each day consists of three segments, a walk through, a 15-minute contact drill and finally a full-scale scrimmage in the afternoon. With over a dozen teams participating the Tigers were exposed to a wide variety of schemes and Offensive Coordinator Andy LeBlanc attributed some of the team’s success to the format itself.

“I like the way Pickens runs the camp, it’s a good format,” LeBlanc said. “Lets us work on what we need to work on.”

Equally important in the training process is the film review. Less than 24 hours after camp, coaches and players gather in the Performing Arts Center to watch a collection of Go-Pro, drone, and overhead video of the previous two-days.

The ability to manipulate the image to an exact spot and watch frame by frame, in slow motion or from different angles has allowed the Dawson County coaching staff to zero in on the basic fundamentals of football with the young team. Moving directly from the film room to the practice field is just another step in the process of reinforcing the lesson as the team walks through each play with the corrections fresh in their minds.

“Its just another way to get repetitions, and repetitions equal experience,” LeBlanc said. “Experience is everything.”

The Tigers will not return to the practice field until after the Georgia High School Associations “dead week,” when no high school sports activity is allowed, which takes place June 29 – July 6.