Lions Practice and Scrimmage

The last couple of weeks I have been trying to get back into football mode. This means finding the ball and figuring out the play before it happens through an eyepiece. It is very easy to lose the ball and never see the end of the play. The Chili Lions practices started last week and this was my chance to gain my "football eye" back from last year.

Practices include many types of drills at different levels of skill. The older Lions work on their tackling here.

(Canon 40D 70-200mm f/2.8 1/1600 iso160)

Some have to practice even though they have a cast on like this quarterback practicing his hand-offs.

(Canon 40D 70-200mm f/2.8 1/1600 iso160)

Running backs are trying to keep control of the ball anyway they can. In this photo, one of the Lions loses the ball but regains control behind his back.

(Canon 40D 70-200mm f/2.8 1/1600 iso160)

Lineman practice lineing up against cones, opposing lineman will be there very soon.

(Canon 40D 70-200mm f/2.8 1/1600 iso160)

Some of the younger players learn how to properly receive a hand-off and hold on to the ball. This junior pee wee player uses both hands to grab the ball from the coach.

(Canon 40D 300mm f/2.8 1/1000 iso250)

Here some players test some of their tackling skills on a fellow running back.

(Canon 40D 300mm f/2.8 1/1000 iso250)

One of the many Chili Lions coaches helps a player understand his role in the play.

(Canon 40D 70-200mm f/2.8 1/2000 iso160)

The Lions even have great learning tools like tackling dummies and in this photo a tackling sled. This mitey mite player works on his strength in moving the defender or in this case the tackling sled.

(Canon 40D 70-200mm f/2.8 1/2000 iso160)

Not only do the football players have to practice, but the cheerleaders have to put in an intense workout too. These cheerleaders are working on keeping the team in sync.

(Canon 40D 70-200mm f/4.0 1/640 iso320)

They also have to work on their lifts as these mitey mite cheerleaders lift about half of what the older girls do.

(Canon 40D 300mm f/2.8 1/800 iso250)

It takes practice and balance to get these lifts to look flawless. These girls below have not acheived the balance part yet but still have time before the season begins.

(Canon 40D 70-200mm f/2.8 1/1000 iso250)

Here is what everyday practice will lead too for the cheerleaders.

(Canon 40D 70-200mm f/2.8 1/1000 iso250)

After many weeks of practice the Lions faced the Ogden Bears in a scrimmage. Quarterbacks get their first opportunity to throw against a defense.

(Canon 40D 300mm f/2.8 1/2000 iso250)

This running back looked good early finding a hole in the Bears defense.

(Canon 40D 300mm f/2.8 1/1000 iso250)

The mitey mites coaches were a little more hands on during the scrimmage.

(Canon 40D 300mm f/2.8 1/1600 iso250)

The coaching paid off as the Lions did their job filling the gaps and keeping the Ogden running back from getting past the line of scrimmage.

(Canon 40D 300mm f/3.5 1/1600 iso250)

Some of the coaches kept their team on their toes with pushups during play breaks.

(Canon 40D 300mm f/2.8 1/1000 iso250)

Chili Lions: 2009 Galleries

MaxPreps Photographer

I have been accepted as a MaxPreps photographer which will give me an opportunity to show and sell my pics nationwide from their site. I will also be increasing my range of different teams in Section V. Stay tuned for more and here is a link to my Bio and galleries at MaxPreps.

Season Favorites 2008-09: Lacrosse

I decided I wanted to finish off my first full high school sports season with a "best of" for each sport. Lacrosse is another chllenging sport to photograph due to its fast pace and intensity. I was able to shoot many games for both the girls and boys teams. Here are my favorites for the 2008-2009 season.

Galleries: 2008-09 Lacrosse

Season Favorites 2008-09: Baseball

I decided I wanted to finish off my first full high school sports season with a "best of" for each sport. I want to finsih my blog of last year's favorites with baseball. Baseball is a hard sport to photograph and still be original. Many photographers shoot the batter and pitcher but there is much more to the game. It is difficult to get a great shot of a quick catch or unexpected play which challenges the photographer. I was able to improve throughout the year and hopefully even more this spring. Here are my favorites for the 2008-2009 season.

Galleries: 2008-09 Baseball

Season Favorites 2008-09: Softball

I decided I wanted to finish off my first full high school sports season with a "best of" for each sport. Softball is a little more challenging than baseball but it did not take long before I was getting some good results. Here are my favorites for the 2008-2009 season.

Galleries: 2008-09 Softball

Season Favorites 2008-09: Tennis

I decided I wanted to finish off my first full high school sports season with a "best of" for each sport. I did not shoot many matches of tennis last year but did get some decents pics. Hopefully this year I will have more open opportunities for matches. Here are my favorites for the 2008-2009 season.

Galleries: 2008-09 Tennis