Bishop Sullivan coach Richard Cox took his players through a lot on the first day of football practice.

Cox, a former successful track coach at Deep Creek High School, had his players doing sand pit runs, pulling sleds, running through bag drills and flipping tires. And that was just the first 90 minutes of practice. They stil had two more hours.

Afterward, many players were dragging and couldn't wait to hit the bed. But all in all, it was a good first day.

"It was definitely tough," said senior defensive back Zach Fitzpatrick. "But I think it will help us in the long run."

Cox said many of his athletes have never gone through a rigorious workout like he put them through.

"We are giving them a lot of tough love," he said. "But this is what we have to do if we're going to turn this program around.

"But the kids are excited right now and wide-eyed."

He added that many parents showed their support for his system when they showed up for a recent meeting.

"A lot of them said this was the greatest thing to ever happen to the program," he said.

Jackie Phillips' son, Jack, is a freshman on the team. Even though she admits to not knowing a lot about football, she said she's looking forward to the season.

"I took Jack to a camp at William and Mary and one of the coaches at the camp knew coach Cox," she said. "He told me he's one of the best coaches in the area. So we're very fortunate to have him and we're excited to get started."