DEMOPOLIS — The Tigers took to the practice field Wednesday following back-to-back days of 7-on-7 competitions to start the week.

“We had a good day. Guys were bouncing around, jumping around,” DHS head coach Tom Causey said. “I thought the attention was real good and the effort was good. The whole group did well (Wednesday). I thought that we did extremely well as a unit today.”

With the season opener at 6A Wetumpka less than a month away, the pace of practice sessions promises to intensify accordingly, providing ample indication of the effectiveness of the conditioning routine Causey and his staff implemented during the off season.

“I think all the way around physically, we’re better than we were this time last year,” Causey said. “This year our kids look like football players. Last year was more of a natural athlete running out there.”

Causey expects the improved conditioning to play a significant factor in the team’s efforts over the coming weeks.

“It’s full speed,” he said of the tempo of practice for the next month. “The focus is learning to play that way every snap.”

“We will be out there about two hours (per day) this week. Next week we’ll go to more of a true practice time, two and a half to three hours,” Causey said.

In addition to getting in the standard reps, Causey said the coaching staff is intently focused on identifying leaders over the course of the next month.

“Over the next month, the idea is to find some leadership. We’ve got to find out who our leaders are,” Causey said. “I think that’s going to be really important to a team that’s really young this year.”

The Tigers are scheduled to don pads for the first time a week from today.