Pads crackle and the sun provides a blinding glint off shiny plastic helmets. In the middle of the field, a giant water tank sits like a tempting oasis as players feverishly work toward their hard-earned trip to it.

It’ll be another three months before Warren County’s football teams return to the practice field in earnest for two-a-days and the final run-up to the 2011 season. For now, however, spring practice is the main event. It’s a chance for coaches to evaluate players, players to make an impression with their coaches, and both groups to set the tone for what they hope will be a successful year.

“It gets you back in a groove. Spring training is at the right time. Those 15 days are to try and get you better,” Vicksburg High coach Alonzo Stevens said. “You’ve got to take this momentum on through. It’s like a snowball. You want to grab on now and move on and on.”

Each program is allowed to conduct organized practice for three weeks, concluding with a spring scrimmage or multiple-team jamboree.

By the time practice begins again in August, any rhythm gained from May’s workouts will be lost. Conditioning goes on year-round. What is gained from this period is a sense of where a team stands, especially when there’s a lot of new faces.

Warren Central only returns nine of its 22 starters from last season, and has 93 players on the roster — a vast increase from recent years. Sifting through them and finding who best fits where is a chore, coach Josh Morgan said.

“Right now, we are doing a lot of teaching and evaluating. Trying to see who can do what and make sure we get them in the right places,” Morgan said. “Across the board, there’s so many spots available and so many spots we’re trying to find answers to.”

Other coaches are using the practices to tinker with their lineups. St. Aloysius is breaking in a new full-time quarterback, sophomore Carlisle Koestler, while Vicksburg is trying to find a replacement for departed tailback Kawayne Gaston and shore up a leaky defense.

“We’ve got four or five kids that can be big-time ballplayers,” Stevens said. “(Darius) Youngblood is going to give us a different-type running back. He’s a slasher, but he has all the tools. He’s small, but quick.”

Gaston, who transferred to Porters Chapel Academy in December, rushed for 1,000 yards at Vicksburg last season. His presence at PCA has caused coach John Weaver to adjust his offense from a pass-oriented scheme to a power-rushing attack.

“We’re going to run the ball, but we’re also going to be effective running the ball,” Weaver said. “We’re going to go more I-formation to where we can give our downhill runners a chance to maximize their potential.”

St. Al is taking an opposite approach. Coach B.J. Smithhart said improving the passing game will be a point of emphasis next season. Smithhart is also adjusting his defense, switching Sage Lewis from defensive end to linebacker to form a strong tandem with Elliott Bexley.

“We’re hoping they can be something special,” Smithhart said.

Besides the football side of things, spring practice is also a chance for teams to springboard into the “real” season. After this batch of workouts, May and June are filled with conditioning, weightlifting and the camp circuit. Most teams take groups of players to weeklong camps on college campuses or play in 7-on-7 leagues.

July is downtime, then the season begins with the first practice on Aug. 1. The first games will be played Aug. 19.

“We’re setting the tone for how we want our summer and season to go,” Weaver said. “It’s about getting mentally tough. We want to work on discipline. We’ve got some newcomers and want to work on stuff to get in a routine for summer.”