The Trinity Episcopal Barr Brown Fieldhouse was crowded Thursday afternoon with seven Saint football players sharing three weight racks.

Trinity head football coach Graham Roberts said that was a modest showing for the standards his players are setting this offseason.

“I’ve had a great turnout,” Roberts said. “(The morning) is usually my fullest class. I bump anywhere from 15 to 20 guys in the weight room in the mornings. We have a good group of kids showing up eager to work and ready to get the season going.”

Roberts, like several new coaches to the Miss-Lou area, is trying to coach his young football team toward the steep side of the learning curve. He said the team works on route running and timing in abbreviated 7-on-7 scrimmages on Wednesday and Friday mornings. Otherwise, his players are in the weight room.

“What we’re doing right now is sharpening everything up,” Roberts said. “I don’t want to be counter productive and basically go out there and not know our routes or have our timing down. I want our timing to be there and I want us to be crisp.”

Roberts calls his middle school players to come to workout with his varsity players . The younger players are put in lifting groups together with very light weight. The varsity players pair up and workout with more dynamic lifts such as power cleans and dead lifts.

“Our middle school team works on purely technique, so when they get old enough and their muscle development is good enough we can start putting weight on them and not have to coach them from that point,” Roberts said.

That means it’s up to seniors like offensive lineman Spencer Adams to set the example for junior varsity and middle school players in the weight room.

“(The underclassmen) like to work, that’s a good thing,” Adams said. “You have a couple that don’t always show up, but for the most part they’re pretty good.”

Roberts said that guidance will be important for Trinity’s young team.

“I’ve been really impressed with our older guys and how they’ve coached our young guys,” Roberts said. “That’s what you need them to do, they coach those young guys especially when they are doing things the right way. Even if it’s just by example, those younger guys watch the older guys.”

Roberts said Trinity plans on scrimmaging schools in 7-on-7 games next week.