The fall sports season may not have begun quite yet, but that hasn’t stopped the high school football team from getting in some early practices, wrapping up the summer with a recent training camp hosted out of Tontozona, north of Payson.

Along with enjoying the cooler climate and lush green trees, the 2014 Falcon squad spent three days up north getting in drills, learning this year’s offense and defense, as well as building on team spirit and collaboration.

According to head coach Jim Fairfield, the local flock had 36 athletes take part in the camp, primarily comprised of varsity players with a few JV peppered in.

“We did everything from morning conditioning runs, to offense, defense and special teams practices,” Fairfield said.

“At night we had team meetings and worked on teambuilding exercises, like putting them in different groups and having them build things in a certain amount of time. We wanted them to focus on working together.”

Fairfield said that, unlike the 100-plus temperatures of the Valley, the weather at Tontozona was “outstanding.”

“We didn’t get rained on at all, which was a concern before heading up,” he continued.

“It had been raining every day leading up to the camp, but we managed to dodge it.”

The Falcons typically take part in a summer training camp as a means to get the new season rolling and, once again, Fairfield said he feels like this year’s trip was a tremendous asset to the team.

“The camp was very successful,” he added.

“We got all of our offense and defense in. The kids bonded and started looking to each other to figure out their roles. We had a good time. It was a good camp, overall.”

Looking ahead, Fairfield said that the Falcons are looking solid for the coming months, ready to tackle three months of competition in the hopes of making a run on state.

“We look good this year,” Fairfield said.

“They should be very, very competitive. We should make a lot of noise this year.”

Now that the Falcons are back home in Fountain Hills, practices will soon resume on the Four Peaks Park fields. The team was invited to hold their practices there while work finalizes on the new artificial turf being installed on the high school field.

“The kids are excited for the field, as are the coaches,” Fairfield said. He pointed out that, along with the main field, work has been don on the surrounding fields and areas that were formerly dirt lots.

“It looks nice,” he continued.

“They aren’t quite done yet, but it’s coming along. It looks cleaned up, and more like a stadium now, which will be nice. We can host playoff games and other events there now.”

The field is expected to reach completion next month, just in time for the Falcons’ first home game against the Coronado Dons on Aug. 29.