The sun was just rising over Warren Central’s practice field, and the Vikings were already hard at work.

The football team was plowing through offseason conditioning drills that will help them make it through the season, and instilling the discipline necessary to be successful.

“Discipline is 100 percent of the game,” defensive line coach Corey Wilson said. “If the kid is disciplined, they will listen to what the coach has to say and prosper.”

Warren Central has been doing its offseason workouts for two weeks. The players are starting to gain size and become more defined. The summer workouts will see young boys develop into men as they bulk up and get into shape.

“Conditioning is a major part in what we do,” WC head coach Josh Morgan said. “This allows us to have the athletes the best that we can prepare them.”

Coming off a nine-win season last year, everyone is looking for this year to be even better.

Warren Central is looking to rebound after losing a large group of seniors. Morgan is most excited to see how his juniors and seniors take over and lead the team.

“Hopefully we can take our program further and have consistency and stability in our program and see how we respond with our new group,” Morgan said.

The coaching staff’s first look at their new roster came during the spring game against Brandon in May. Warren Central won 27-21. It is still early in the offseason but Morgan sees commitment in his team.

The regular season starts Aug. 21 against Wayne County, and the months of June and July each have a specific focus. The month of June is concentrated around speed and agility to get the athletes faster. July is for football drills and on-field activities.

Morgan has high goals and expectations for his team this season. He said that the work done during training is not for them to be average.

“Their endurance is picking up,” Morgan said. “Our weight program and offseason program have been very good to us the last several years.”

The expectations for the Vikings are to become a family, establish a brotherhood and have the guys become accountable for one another. But the coaches will take the season one day at a time.

Knowing that each person beside him has put in the same amount of work and committed to getting up early for workouts is an important intangible the Vikings will carry with them throughout the season. It shows players made it an emphasis to truly be a part of the team.

Morgan is excited and said now is when you win football games. His staff has done a good job of committing the whole summer to developing the team for the season.

“We’ve made really big strides in leadership,” Morgan said. “We’re having people step up where spots are open. We’ve added depth to our team, which is important when playing in 6A.”