The Demopolis Youth Football League is off and running with practice as it aims for an Aug. 28 opening date against Hale County. Among the three Demopolis teams that will compete this year is Mark McVay’s 10U team, which is fielding more than 50 players.

McVay’s group is practicing approximately two hours a day four days a week as its opening game looms.

Demopolis spent much of its Tuesday practice working in groups divided by position. According to McVay, it is in these smaller groups where most of the learning takes place.

“That’s a lot of the reason that we break off in groups so they can get more attention,” McVay said, addressing the nuances of coaching so many young players.

While he certainly would like to see his team when the league championship, McVay said the primary focus of the season lies in preparation.

“We want to have them prepared for the middle school and the high school,” McVay said. “We want them to know as much of the offense as they can, but the main thing we want to do is teach them the fundamentals.”

McVay explained that the learning curve continues to expand with each passing year as retention continues to get higher within the league. The number of returning players allows the coaching staff to add new wrinkles to the program.

“As the year goes on, we can add more plays and we can really begin to add more complexity to the defense,” McVay said.

For now, he just hopes to have his 50 players ready to go for game one. That contest will be in Moundville.