Tars well under way

Barry Faulkner

Entering his 25th season as head coach of a high school football

program, Newport Harbor High’s Jeff Brinkley has refined his craft to

the point where new wrinkles are more acceptably viewed in the mirror

than in his regimented practice plans.

But a scheduling quirk threw an unexpected wrinkle into the

Sailors best-laid plans this fall, prompting Brinkley, like many

other Southern Section coaches, to take advantage of starting days

earlier than workouts were originally permitted to begin.

Consequently, the Sailors completed their three conditioning days

(practices in helmets, T-shirts and shorts) Friday and began

practicing in full pads Monday, in order to get their accustomed work

in before the start of school, as they prepare for their Sept. 12

opener against Trabuco Hills.

“Sometimes having everything planned in advance can backfire on

you,” said Brinkley, who had earlier declined to move his practice

schedule back, before realizing not doing so would cost him valuable

preparation time. So, despite having outlined acceptable vacation

dates with his players, he elected to start workouts last week.

“We readjusted the thing,” he said. “As it turned out, it only

affected two kids who had planned vacations.”

Other than the early start and the perennial changing of the guard

brought on by graduation, little is new in the Sailors’ camp, where

routine, tradition and continuity have become nearly as constant as

the August sun.

A 59-player roster begins work at 7:30 a.m. and, with practices

for offense, defense and special teams, in addition to conditioning,

weight training, classroom instruction and a break for lunch, stays

busy until heading home around 5 p.m.

“It has been business as usual,” said Brinkley, whose business the

last three seasons has included double-digit win totals. “We were

better (Tuesday) than we were (Monday). Hopefully, you get better

every day, so we’ve done that.”

Brinkley said the tempo was noticeably improved Tuesday, which is

typical as players adjust to the rigors of wearing full gear.

The Sailors’ preseason preparation will also include a scrimmage

with defending CIF Division II champion Mission Viejo, scheduled

Sept. 6 at 7 p.m. in the Diablos’ stadium.