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By David Boyce  |  Photo Album

MARYVILLE, Mo. - Sophomore wide receiver Shawn Bane Jr. walked off the sparkling new turf at Bearcat Stadium late Thursday morning feeling pretty good.
 
It didn't matter that temperatures were already soaring into the low 90s or that he found room for improvement after the first practice of the fall camp.
 
"We were a bit sluggish as a team," Bane said. "We could have done much better but it was the first day and it was really hot. So we can do much better."
 
Still, Bane couldn't help but smile when he reflected on what happened to him one year ago on the first day of practice. On that warm day in August 2015, nobody knew that Bane would go on to catch 82 passes for 1,207 yards and eight touchdowns or earn first-team All-MIAA as a punt/kick returner and second-team All-MIAA as a wide receiver.
 
In fact, Northwest coach Adam Dorrel was left perplexed when Bane concluded his first day of practice in 2015 by making a trip to the hospital for full-body cramps.
 
"You are sitting there and trying to process it," Dorrel said. "This guy is from Florida. He is used to the heat. He is in good physical shape. It was a little strange. It is something you expect from a D-lineman."
 
Bane just knew it was painful.
 
"It was absolutely terrible," he said. "It hurt so bad. I wouldn't wish that pain on no one. I guess I was dehydrated and not acclimated to the turf. I stayed on top of it this year."
 
Bane drank plenty of water, coconut water, stretched and did everything necessary to ensure no cramps would flare up.
 
Despite his sophomore status, Bane is already looked on as one of the leaders on the team, in part, because of the way he handled the success that came his way last season.
 
"The best thing I love about him is I think he does a great job at staying at an even keel," Dorrel said. "You look at last year, the really big games he was having, and I never sensed he was cocky. For a freshman that is kind of unusual.
 
"As coaches, we feel he can do a lot from a leadership role with kids, teaching them how to do things the right way. And show everybody he is still humble and hungry."
 
Bane is eager to embrace additional responsibilities to help the Bearcats maintain their two decades of success.
 
"Speaking to the coaches, they were telling me, 'you are going to have to go into the leadership role.' Why not now? I can talk to the younger receivers when I can and coach them up and help them with things and make sure they are doing things the Bearcat way," Bane said.
 
And the Bearcat way is to never be satisfied with mediocrity. That attitude was pervasive after the first practice. Dorrel, Bane and junior nose guard Caleb Mather all said in separate interviews that the first day of practice was OK.
 
"We can always get better," said Mather, who grew up in Maryville.
 
Mather, who played a few snaps in last year's national championship game, is excited about his chance of getting more playing time this year.
 
"It is awesome to have the opportunity to play for the Bearcats after watching all these great teams," Mather said. "It is really fun to be a part of it. I am really excited for the year and seeing how we are going to do as a team. I think it is going to be really good."
 
The first day of practice to begin a new season always has a different energy from all other practices.
 
"This is breaking the ice," Bane said. "You are meeting up with all the new players and even the older players coming back and getting ready to work."
 
For the incoming freshmen, it is a very long day that started with a 5:30 a.m. wake-up call, followed quickly with testing drills at 6:15 a.m. Everybody stretched at 7:05, followed by meetings at 8 and then on the field from 9:30 to 11:30. After lunch, the players returned for 1 p.m. meetings and then a walk through at 3 p.m. After dinner there is a 6 p.m. team meeting and then a position meeting.
 
This is basically the routine for the players for the next two weeks before classes start on Aug. 29.
 
"We call it Groundhog Day with the exception of Thursday when we have a scrimmage," Dorrel said. "The biggest thing is getting started so you can get into a routine. We now have an expectation for each day, how you practice and how you do drill work.
 
"We did some good things. We got a starting point and we know what we need to improve upon. It certainly was hot for us today. We haven't had many hot days like this."
 
The next two weeks are important. Thankfully for the players and the coaches, a cool front is supposed to slip through Maryville Thursday night and temperatures are expected to be in the 80s for at least the next five days.
 
It is definitely easier to focus in practice when the heat index is not approaching 100. Dorrel and his coaching staff want to get a lot done in the next couple of weeks before classes start.
 
"You have their undivided attention the whole day," Dorrel said. "Even the days we only practice once, we have meetings in the afternoon and do walk throughs. You have their complete attention. They are like sponges right now. They want to learn."