Lake Orion Football Coach: 'We Have Victory Plans'

After spending a couple hours at a Lake Orion football practice session, it’s easy to see why the team has made 10 straight playoff appearances and why they are the defending Division 1 state champions.

Head coach Chris Bell addressed his team at the end of practice on Wednesday, and his words exemplified the coaching staff’s mentality.

"We have victory plans,” Bell told his players. "One of them is don’t flinch! Don’t ever flinch. Our body language is always positive."

The staff has players approaching practice with the same kind of intensity as they would a playoff game. The Dragons had 90 players practicing, and considering the size of the group, it was an incredibly focused affair.

A business-as-usual approach makes sense, considering Lake Orion is replacing 18 of the 22 starters that helped lead them to a near-perfect 13-1 record last season. 

Competition is the name of the game at practice for the next two weeks. Unlike many teams in the Oakland Activities Association, Lake Orion generally doesn’t play its players on both offense and defense; the team has more open starting jobs than most teams. 

"Right now, if we started a game we would have 22 different starters; there’s nobody that goes both ways – we are simply one-way guys," Bell said. "We have the kids to do it, number one, plus it gets more players on the field and they get twice the practice time at one position."

Another benefit is that it keeps players fresh throughout the game. Bell said there is definitely a drop in production on one side or another when players play have to play both offense and defense.

“I think it’s an advantage,” senior defensive lineman Andrew Shefkalis said. “Playing varsity football you get beat up and tired, it helps getting off the field.”

It also helps that Bell has such a large number of quality players competing at each position.  

“We have great competition at all of our positions, that’s the great thing,” Bell said. “Our offensive line, I’ve got 10 to 12 guys (competing), we’re going to find five of them. With our slot receivers I’ve got six guys (competing), we’re going to find two or three of them, but all of them are playing well.”

The juniors joining the varsity team were undefeated as sophomores, and Lake Orion's two freshman teams went 13-2 last season.

For more Lake Orion Dragons football coverage, check back August 23 for our full season preview.

Want more news? Follow Oakland Township Patch on Facebook and Twitter!