With the temperature nearing triple digits, the Greenville Tigers hit the practice field in shorts and helmets for the first day of practice.

With the heat being a major factor in the practice, head coach Ben Blackmon and his staff gave the players frequent water breaks.

&uot;With it being so hot, you’ve just got to,&uot; Blackmon said. &uot;We’ve got to keep these kids healthy.&uot;

The primary focus of the practice was working on the offensive and defensive schemes.

&uot;We’re installing offensive and defensive plans, and we did a little conditioning at the end of practice,&uot; Blackmon said.

The pace of Greenville’s practice is dictated by a segment timer on the sidelines, which shows a number similar to a play clock.

At the beginning of practice, the number is one and every five minutes, a buzzer sounds and the number goes up by one.

&uot;It helps move practice along smoothly,&uot; Blackmon said. &uot;Each coach is given a schedule of what’s going on during each segment so that they don’t have to keep checking their watches.&uot;

For the rest of the week, Blackmon said the plan is just to keep installing schemes.

&uot;We’re going to have a scrimmage Friday afternoon about 4:30,&uot; Blackmon said.

&uot;These kids are eager and ready to get the pads on, but we’ve got to do what the state says and spend our days in shorts,&uot; Blackmon continued.