Crawford football has returned as the Pirates held their first official practice of the 2023 season.
"I'm just as excited in year 40 as I was year one and this is year 40," Head Coach Greg Jacobs said.
For Jacobs, coaching football means a lot more than just playing a game.
"It's a fun time. The thing I enjoy about coaching sports, especially football is you see young men that have to learn to deal with adversity on a daily basis and they have to learn to get along with each other and mold themselves as a team as a unit," Jacobs said.
Last year, Crawford finished 14-1 and were 7-0 in district plays and were semi-finalists. A near perfect resume that they want to build off of. Each team is different each year.
"We graduated some really special kids last year. We had 13 seniors that we lost. We've got a number of kids that are coming up. We've got 10 that will be seniors this year. It's their time, it's their opportunity and they realize that the times that they had to participate and be a part of it last year, they just learned from it and they know the expectations are high," Jacobs said.
This season, like all football seasons comes with new players and with new Pirates coming in, the veterans have to step up.
"Over the years, I've seen kids that were juniors that, weren't really difference makers. By this time, being seniors, they became a completely different person. They invest a lot of effort and hard work into that last senior year. So, I think I see that from a number of this year's seniors. It'll be a growing process. We understand that. I don't want to be perfect day one and I don't expect to be," he said.
The Crawford Pirates first game of the season will be against the Goldthwaite Eagles on August 25.
