Coach Ed Pilcher’s 2012 Bainbridge High School Bearcats football team is getting in a lot of weight room work this week, in preparation for the upcoming season.

“Playing football requires a lot of preparation and it is not enough to just practice during the week and show up on Friday night to play,” Pilcher said recently. “If you want to be bigger, stronger and more productive, you have got to work in the weight room in the off season.”

During their summer weight program, Bearcats players do bench presses, arm curls, lunges and dead lifts to help build a stronger base in the legs and get the arms and upper body more powerful.

Pilcher says explosive leg strength is particularly important for linemen, linebackers, running backs, wide receivers and defensive backs.

“A player’s initial explosion is a function of leg strength,” he said. “Offensive linemen attempting to open holes for running backs need leg strength to knock their opponent backwards.

“All of the young men are working hard in the weight room and looking forward to getting back on the field to work out in shorts in two weeks, following next week’s dead period when no participation of any kind is allowed.”