Summer workouts are coming to an end for the Escambia Academy Cougars, but before practices begin the team will be put through one last test.

The Cougars will soon leave for a team camp at an undisclosed location where they will go through several activities.

Throughout workouts, the players have made it to the Cougars’ field house to get work done.

“The players have done a great job,” Gibson said. “They have all made improvements in the weight room, and we have some guys who have put on 15 to 20 pounds of body weight. Things are going to pay off for us when the season gets here.”

The motivation shown by the Cougars is seen on a chart that hangs on a door in the field house.

The number of assigned workouts is on the chart and the majority of players have made those workouts, Gibson said.

“We have a chart on the board with 37 possible workouts and they have to make 32 of them,” he said. “Right now, most of them are at 30 or more workouts. That shows the motivation our team has and how bad they want to win.”

Before the team leaves for camp, they will put it all out on the line to make sure they are in the best shape possible.

Maxes and stamina will be put to the test before the bus is boarded, Gibson said.

“The worst part is before we leave for camp,” he said. “That morning before, we test our maxes, our 40s, broad jump, verticals and endurance. We’ll do five hours of solid work in the heat of the day. Then we leave for camp and it’s two more days of non-stop work.

Once at camp, it will be all business as the Cougars get to work, Gibson said.

“At camp, we work on goals, team philosophies and what we expect,” he said. “Then we begin working for the season. We do a lot of 7-on-7s to make sure we can get our system in place. We go back over the basics and check to see everybody has it.”