MOSES LAKE – The Maverick’s season-opener is still nearly three months away, but the Moses Lake football team began its spring practices on Tuesday last week to give players an opportunity to get back on the field as a team.

“It’s new and fresh to finally get out there,” Moses Lake Head Coach Brett Jay said. “See the new squad, a bunch of new faces. See everybody that’s put in the work and grown, skillsets are better. It’s a lot of fun.”

While spring practices are limited in what teams can do – players only wear helmets and a practice jersey – the sessions allow players to get accustomed to playing with each other once again.

“We can get in rhythm in all phases of the game,” Jay said. “You look at how many returning starters on each side of the ball, and all the new faces, We create our culture, which is competition. You want to compete every day, regardless of if you’ve got pads on or no pads.”

Through these spring practices, Jay said a strong focus has been on building connections between players and coaches.

“The big word with us this year with our coaching staff is building relationships,” Jay said. “Both coach-to-player and player-to-player. We want guys to come together. We always believe that if you’re playing for your brother, you're never going to quit. We try to establish that mentality.”

Moses Lake graduated 13 seniors off its 2022 roster, but an even bigger senior class will hit the field this fall.

“We have a great senior group coming in – 20-plus seniors and 30-plus juniors,” Jay said. “We have 50 upperclassmen, so we’re going to going to be a much stronger team this year, which we’re excited about. We had some great leadership from last year’s seniors, but this year’s seniors – I think they’re really excited about that role.”

Spring practices conclude with a scrimmage at Royal on June 13, and the Mavericks will travel to Eastern Washington University for a team camp at the end of the month.

“After that, we lift all summer,” Jay said. “Try to get bigger, faster, stronger. Get our bodies feeling really good before (practices) start.”

Moses Lake kicks off the 2023 season at home against Ephrata on September 1.

“Just really excited about the 2023 football season,” Jay said. “Always excited to represent our community, and excited for our player’s opportunity to grow.”

Ian Bivona may be reached at [email protected].