Shook returns to his roots to lead Trinity football
Granger Shook looked right at home in the Trinity weight room. He takes over the football program in 2020. (Tim Gayle)
By TIM GAYLE
Granger Shook counts down as his Trinity players scramble to put the weight room in order.
The players are accustomed to the frantic pace. Shook keeps his players on a tight schedule but wants to accomplish as much as he can in those conditioning drills.
“I think it definitely helps, though, because we get more stuff done in a shorter amount of time,” observed senior linebacker Walton Cherry. “It’s definitely been different. I would say it’s much more intense. And we have to keep everything in order and there are so many specific things we have to do. He pays much more attention this year than we have in past years.”
Shook got in one quick meeting with his new team before the Coronavirus pandemic, so these six conditioning practices over the past two weeks have set the tone for “just who I am, my personality,” he said. “I’m very passionate, very driven. Like I told the kids, it’s fourth and one every day. I’m just trying to instill a sense of urgency that nobody else has. We talked about Galatians 6:9, ‘do not grow tired or weary for doing good, for at the right time you will receive your just reward.’
“In order to not grow tired and weary, we’ve got to have a consistent mindset. There are going to be times when you don’t want to do it, but we say don’t grow tired or weary from doing it. If we’re consistent, we’ll receive our just reward. But you can’t be selfish because selfish people aren’t consistent.”
They met as a group for the first time since the coronavirus on June 2 but didn’t start organized drills until June 9. They start on the field with agility drills, then finish up in the weight room. The former Trinity linebacker knows several of the coaches that were on the staff when he was a player, but others are newcomers that required some acclimation to Shook, the other members of the coaching staff and the players.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” Shook admitted, “but I couldn’t be more proud of the coaches and the players. They’ve bought in and are working really hard. I can honestly say we’ve gotten better every day.”
Defensively, much of what Shook preaches is similar to the way he played at Trinity, so there likely would be slight tweaks to the system but nothing too difficult for players to quickly adjust to. Offensively, there is more likely a shift in philosophy that will take place as the Wildcats move into football-specific drills in July.
“We are in the process right now of identifying what we’ll be,” Shook said. “We are going to be a spread team but I do think we’ve got the ability to show multiple formations. I think wide receiver is a strong suit for us.
“Right now, it’s really not what we do, it’s how we do it, so we’re trying to learn how to handle ourselves on the practice field.”
Cherry, like most of the players, can appreciate the weight lifting and the agility drills, but is looking forward to the day when the Wildcats can shift their focus from conditioning to football.
“We have a much bigger line than we’ve had in years past,” said the senior, who will be adding some offensive duties at H-back to his resume this fall. “And we’ve got a great coach to help with that. I think we’ll bring a lot more power this year than we have in past years.”