PREP PRACTICES FULL OF OPTIMISM

Publication: CHARLESTON DAILY MAIL
Published: 08/06/1996
Page: P1B
Headline: PREP PRACTICES FULL OF OPTIMISM
Byline: TOM ALUISE

The only thing hotter than the temperatures Monday was the feverish
optimism at high school football fields across West Virginia.

It must be the start of prep practice.

With the season set to kickoff for most teams on Aug. 30, many schools
embarked on two-a-day workouts Monday, including defending Class AAA
champion Capital.

At Nitro, Burdette is trying to bring the Wildcats their first winning
season since 1983.

He welcomed 43 players to practice Monday and expects about 20
ninth-graders next week.

A Nitro assistant the past two years, Burdette said the transition to
head coach seemed smooth.

"It was just like another day of practice,' said Burdette, who
inherits a team that went 4-6 in '95. "It was easy. I had most of them
in school last year. They pretty much know me and I know them.

"The first day went better than I expected as far as organization and
the kids accepting the new way we were doing things.'