(IN FIRST PERSON: Sikeston senior sets high goals for his final season.) I had a very busy summer.

While managing a full-time job, I attended our offseason workouts and two college football camps throughout the summer.

My day usually started at about 5:30 a.m.

We had weightlifting and conditioning on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays starting at 6:30 a.m.

We had very good attendance. Most of the team came everyday. Our workout usually started out with 25 to 35 minutes of agility drills and sprints and then 40 to 45 minutes of weightlifting.

After my workout, I went straight to work at the Sikeston Power Station. My job kept me outside most of the time. I knew this would help me get used to the heat when practice came around in August. After getting off work at 4 p.m., I usually went back to the gym to get in a good workout.

I also tried to improve myself by attending two camps, one in St. Louis and the other in Kansas City. The first camp I attended was the one-day camp held at Washington University by Mizzou.

Although rain kept us inside, I managed to pick up several new skills that should be very useful in the upcoming season. I was also invited to attend another one-day camp held in Kansas City by Kansas State. I picked up some useful skills at this camp, too.

I'm looking forward to a very good season this year.

Our goal is to be champions, first district and then state. I think we have a very good chance to achieve our goal this year.

We will return several starters from last year while adding a lot of young talent and speed. I believe we will be much improved at the skill positions, which was a problem last season.

Two very capable quarterbacks will compete to lead the passing game that will be greatly improved from last year and take much needed pressure off the running game. Our line will be the key to our team. We will be very good both offensively and defensively and will probably average somewhere around 275 pounds.

If we can come together as a team, and play smart, intense football, we will meet our goal and be champions.