With the start of summer workouts underway, the Gatewood football team has officially begun laying the groundwork for the 2026 season.
The Gators opened their offseason conditioning program Monday, beginning a two-month focus on building strength, improving conditioning, and developing the leadership needed to navigate the demands of a long football season.
“We just started today, and we’re going to do our summer weightlifting program,” Gatewood head coach Jeff Ratliff said on Monday. “We go Monday through Thursday, roughly about 8 to 10:15 each day. We’ll have a couple of 7-on-7s sprinkled in there, and we’re getting ready for the end of July when we can start practice.”
Ratliff compared the team’s offseason work to preparing for a marathon, emphasizing that the summer months are critical to developing both physically and mentally before the season begins.
“The summer is our preparation stage,” Ratliff said. “We’ve got to get physically right. We’ve got to get mentally right, and we’ve got to prepare ourselves for a long football season because football season is long, and it’s very demanding.”
The coach said the Gators wasted little time getting started, opening the summer program with a challenging leg day.
“We started this morning with good old squats, leg day,” Ratliff said. “That’s got to be our foundation, and that’s what we started with.”
While the team’s on-field activities will be limited until official practices begin later this summer, Ratliff said the focus remains on strengthening the fundamentals that drive successful football programs.
“You’ve got to be fundamentally sound if you’re going to be good,” Ratliff said. “You can talk all kinds of different levels, but it ultimately comes down to blocking and tackling. You’ve got to be fundamentally sound from your stance, to your responsibilities, to what’s expected of you.”
Ratliff stressed that individual responsibility and teamwork go hand in hand.
“You’ve got a job to do, and the guy beside you is depending on you to do your job so he can do his and vice versa,” he said.
In addition to strength and conditioning work, Gatewood plans to use summer 7-on-7 camps to build chemistry and sharpen the skills of its quarterbacks, receivers, and defensive backs.
“We’re trying to get stronger. We’re trying to get in shape,” Ratliff said. “We can get our quarterback right. We can get our receivers right. We can get our DBs right with the 7-on-7 stuff, and obviously, all that will lead up until we’re able to get started.”
As the Gators prepare for the upcoming season, Ratliff believes the team’s senior class will play a pivotal role in determining the program’s success this fall.
“Our team is going to go as our seniors go because I expect so much out of them,” Ratliff said. “They’ve been through the program, and they know what to expect, and they know what to do.”
While performance on the field is important, Ratliff said leadership will be the defining characteristic he expects from the group’s veteran players.
“I expect my seniors to perform. If they don’t perform, we’re in trouble,” Ratliff said. “But they have to lead.”
According to Ratliff, leadership extends beyond vocal encouragement to include setting the standard in the locker room, holding teammates accountable, and helping younger players understand the program’s expectations.
“I expect them to take care of the locker room,” Ratliff said. “I expect them to make sure everybody’s in line and everybody’s going to be on the same page. If they’ll do that, we’ll be successful.”
With summer workouts now underway, the Gators have officially begun the long process of preparing for another season, one Ratliff hopes will be built on strength, discipline, and senior leadership.