No head coach in any sport likes the word rebuilding, but when you lose 13 seniors on your roster, it’s hard to describe an upcoming season as not a rebuilding one.

The Pike County Bulldogs, fresh off a trip to the second round of the state playoffs, are trying to dust of the cobwebs during spring practice.

“We are having a really good time,” said Bulldogs head coach Fred Holland. “We have a lot of young guys out here. We aren’t returning very many … some of them are getting their feet wet for the very first time.”

With the addition of so many new players, Coach Holland and the rest of the coaching staff has had to slow the game down for the new players to learn.

“Teaching them to work has been the biggest thing,” Holland said. “We are trying to get them capable of understanding some things. We have been breaking it down for them so they can grasp the information that we are presenting to them.”

The Bulldogs coaching staff is enjoying coaching the game from the ground up.

“It has been fun working with the younger guys,” Holland said. “We are learning something about them, and they are learning something about us. I enjoy it and the coaches enjoy it. As many young guys that we have, there is a lot of teaching and it’s a lot of fun.”

The message from Holland to the other coaches is to keep things slow and to keep everyone involved in the process.

Last season the Bulldogs had leaders like Jerrell Lawson, Deshon Cowling, Kamari Jackson who set the tone for the Bulldogs. With those players gone, the Bulldogs are looking for new players to step up.

“We preach all the time about the older guys helping bring the younger guys along and having the right attitude,” Holland said. “They also have to be able to take constructive criticism. We look for their leadership and right now it’s coming along good.”

The Bulldogs will be able to close out their spring with a game against Luverne on Thursday May 19. Goshen and Brantley will also go at it as well.

“It’s going to be great to be able to do that,” Holland said. “We get to face someone after spring and be able to challenge someone else and see how far they have come this spring. It’s something for our guys to look forward to.”