Jenkins Starts Third Year As Indians Head Coach
The Indians started off their 2018 season with camp on Monday.
Oskaloosa, Iowa – The sound of whistles, the smell of cut grass, and a painted gridiron indicate that football season is just around the corner.
Oskaloosa Head Football Coach Jake Jenkins is starting his third year at the helm of the Oskaloosa Indians Varsity Team.
As camp got underway on Monday, Jenkins was surveying the prospects and the numbers of those in attendance, looking to see what his team could be this year. “We get to see who’s out. Who’s been working out over the summer, and who’s been running,” said Jenkins.
Camp starts out without pads but gives an opportunity for players to get back in touch with the basic skills of the game.
“This is step one. What’s our offense going to look like, personnel wise? What’s our defense going to look like?” added Jenkins as he glances towards the skirmish at the line. “This is the first step of the season.”
When it comes to the Indians playbook, Jenkins says the team likes its base stuff, “but we’re always going to play to the strengths of our personnel. If you’ve got a bunch of skill guys, you’re probably going to throw the ball a little bit more. If you’ve got the power running stuff, you’ll probably run power a little bit more. We have all of it, but we’re definitely going to play to the strengths of our guys we have right now.”
With what we have right now, we have a lot of options,” added Jenkins of his first look at the team. “Guys are competing already. You can see it flying around here. They want those positions. It’s a very exciting time.”
Jenkins is excited to see the level of excitement within the team, as well as the desire to put in the work to be stronger and faster.
During a recent weightlifting session, Jenkins noted that over seven players were able to squat over 400 pounds. “I’m thinking; when I was in high school, a 400-pound squat, you might have one or two guys on the team. It’s just, the strength levels are really pretty good, and I credit that to our strength program.”
“I’m very excited about the commitment they’ve done and the guys that we have and the time they’ve put in,” added Jenkins. “It should pay off for them.”
The Indians will officially kick off their season on August 24th against Pella Christian in Pella. Game time is set for 7:30 pm.
