Although coaches say the team got off to a “sluggish” start at practice, the Red Level Tigers are making progress in preparation for their first regular-season football game Aug. 28.

A week before that first game, the Tigers will play in a jamboree at Pleasant Home.

Red Level coach Tony Ingram said practices improved once his players got used to following a routine.

“We got better as the week progressed,” Ingram said. “The very first day was about like you would expect it. It was sluggish.”

Ingram said one other problem that first week was that many players had not taken their physicals, but that has been done and everybody has since reported to practice.

“We got better from Monday to Tuesday and I hope to get better each day,” he said.

Ingram said the first day in pads, which was last Thursday, turned out better than he expected.

“We got physical,” he said. “Our timing was off, but the contact we made was physical. I was pleased with that. We want to be physical. That’s kind of how we always have been.

“We want to get back to playing Red Level football,” he said. “They may beat us, but we want them to know we’re there (to hit them).”

One aspect of the game the Tigers will be focusing on this week is their timing on offense.

“We’re not there,” Ingram said. “We’ve got to get there. It’s basic stuff and we want to be fundamentally sound. We want to line up right and make the exchange for the quarterback and running back right. We just want to be able to run our basic offense and have proper execution.”

On the jamboree game against Pleasant Home, Ingram said the team would be as ready as they can be.

“We probably won’t be ready like I want us to be,” he said. “It gives you a little sense of urgency to get to that point to play that game.

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to win (the jamboree game),” he said “The goal is to get ready for the regular season during practice. You don’t want to get anybody hurt and yet you want to go against somebody else.”