Monday may have been the first official day of practice for teams across the state of Pennsylvania for fall sports, but many football programs got a head start on their heat acclimation period, dating back to last Wednesday.

That meant teams that started their program last week could begin Monday's practices with full contact.

It was a motivating factor for teams ending last week's practices on Friday to start the week in full pads and Liberty's football program was no different.

Liberty's new head coach John Truby got himself acclimated to being the boss last week and enjoyed getting this week off to a physical start.

"One of the things we mentioned to the players last Friday was how we can hit on Monday," said Truby. "There wasn't much more motivating you needed to do for our guys. They were looking forward to hitting once this week started."

Being a first-year head coach on the varsity level, Truby also was anxious to get out on the field and just coach football.

"Once you get out here, it's just the same as any day coaching," he said. "Getting familiar with all these guys was important, but the good thing was that I coached a lot of these guys earlier at the freshman level and they know me. Dealing with all the other details that come with being a head coach is what you learn to get used to."

Bethlehem Catholic volleyball coach Paul Abi-Daher lost one starter from last year's district championship squad and had a busy Monday sorting through the first day of tryouts.

The Hawks had 20 freshmen girls come out for the program, which bodes well for Becahi's future.

"It's good to see that many girls come out for the program," said Abi-Daher. "It's a good foundation for us moving into the future."

The future expectations of this year's team is no different from a squad that defeated Central Catholic in three games during last year's District 11 2A final.

"We're going to be a very good team again," he said. "We want to compete for the LVC and district titles and advance further in the state tournament."