It was a relaxed atmosphere at Porters Chapel Academy as the football players finished up their morning conditioning drills and were playing basketball inside the gym with the coaches.

“We’re just trying to have fun and stay relaxed,” said PCA head coach Wayne Lynch, who is also the school’s basketball coach. “These guys out here think they can beat me.”

It wasn’t all fun and games for Porters Chapel on Friday. The team went through intense weightlifting and conditioning drills starting at 8 a.m. and wrapped up around 9:30. Players seemed focused and ready for a new challenge this coming season.

PCA won two games last season yet still made the MAIS Class A playoffs. The turnaround process won’t get much easier for the Eagles as the 2015 schedule shows three games against Class AAA schools and a game against MHSAA Class 3A program St. Andrews. Although the schedule gets harder this season, the Eagles are up for the challenge of improving in 2015.

“We’re going to be a very young team with only two seniors and five juniors,” Lynch said. “All of our guys are strong, including our younger guys. It’s going to be a challenge starting out, but once they get in a groove they’ll be just fine.”

Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are when the team comes in for summer workouts. The team participates in many conditioning drills, weightlifting exercises, 7-on-7 drills and more to stay in shape and focused.

Chad Langford, the strength and conditioning coach, keeps the team on a dietary plan and a strict weight program. He has the plan set in place with the goal to lose weight and put on muscle.

Lynch said that the summer workouts are a process, but at the end of the day he wants to see team chemistry build as the days go on.

“We’re doing the little things right now,” Lynch said. “We’re working a lot now on team chemistry. That’s the biggest thing is that we’re trying to come together as a team.”

Summer workouts are not only to keep the players in top physical shape, but also to improve their mental toughness.

“We want to see them get mentally tough along with the physical part of football,” assistant coach Stacey Sykes said. “Those things will help us once we get into the season. It’ll show us what they can do and can’t do.”

Tire flips, wind sprints, 7-on-7s and passing drills are just some of the ways Porters Chapel has continued to build team chemistry.

“Camaraderie, how kids are cheering their teammates on, how they’re stepping up and leading their teammates, all of those are very important,” Sykes said. “I’ve been really impressed with the guys and the way they’ve picked each other up.”

PCA opens the season Aug. 21 at St. Andrew’s, its first regular-season game ever against an MHSAA team.