Bearcat football players returned from Spring Break Monday by hitting the weight room to kick off spring workouts.

Dozens of kids were working on their legs and backs Monday morning at the Bainbridge High School field house, preparing for next month’s spring game against Thomasville High School.

For the past eight weeks, Bainbridge has worked out strictly indoors for its winter program. With weather warming up, players will go three days indoors and two days outdoors, where they’ll train functional strength by flipping tires, pushing sleds and other workouts.

“We’ve had a good winter,” coach Jeff Littleton said. “The kids have worked hard.”

Littleton said a lot of young players have come a long way in maturing and developing as leaders, but there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done. To help measure progress, Littleton and the other coaches have developed a character point system that awards players for successes and leadership in the classroom and on the field.

All of it is to develop the kids into not just great football players, but great young men.

“You hope some of the strength gains we have during this time will translate to the field,” Littleton said. “That’s why we work hard in the weight room and outside, and hopefully that translates to the grass on Friday nights.”

Bainbridge will play its spring game against Thomasville on Friday, May 11, at 7:30 p.m. at Thomasville. Last year, the Bulldogs came to Bainbridge for the spring game and gave the Bearcats strong competition to gauge their progress.

Summer workouts will begin June 5.