The George Rogers Clark High School football team will don the helmets and pads and hit the practice field Monday for the first time under new coach Oliver Lucas.

While the Cardinals have been working out under the guidance of Lucas and his staff since he took over earlier this year, Monday’s spring practice will give him the first true look at his new team.

“It gives you a good picture of who your players are,” he said. “We can start to get their roles defined. And when you’re doing this for the first time at a new program, you have to make sure the kids are up to speed on what the format (of practice) is.”

Lucas said the practice schedule for the spring was already set. The Cardinals will be on the practice field every day next week after school.

That will give him a good look at not only his personnel but how the players are adjusting to the new systems.

“Some kids have grasped the offensive and defensive schemes and what is expected of them,” Lucas said. “Until you put on those pads, you don’t know exactly what you have. You can’t be a starter if you haven’t demonstrated the ability to play in pads.”

A spring game is set for April 22 at 1 p.m. It will be a squad scrimmage with the Cardinals split into two teams. Everything will be live except for special teams.

A dinner will follow and a school dance held later that evening.

“This is considered a fundraising event for us, and it’s a good way to bring the community together to raise some money for the program, have a dance and spend time with the community the whole day. This is what the whole thing should look like every year.”

The next two weeks will offer a glimpse at the fall and perhaps the future of GRC football.

“People will draw excitement from the players themselves in the way they talk about the program,” Lucas said. “There’s a buzz headed in the right direction. Now we just have to get the product on the field, and the community will see it be something different.”