GODFREY • When the first practice ended a little after noon Monday, new Alton High football coach Eric Dickerson gathered his charges into a circle near the sideline of the practice field.
He looked the players over, gave a brief pep talk and sent them on their way.
"It was good," Dickerson said. "I think it was really good. The kids that showed up all summer were here and showed some leadership out there. I think we got a lot accomplished and we're ready to be out here (Tuesday)."
While the day went smoothly, a few things reminded Dickerson he was no longer an assistant.
"You think you have everything taken care of and you find out there's still a bunch of things you didn't think about," Dickerson said. "It's a little more work with equipment and phone calls. It's more than you would imagine, but I'm excited about everything and I'm excited for this opportunity."
Dickerson took over for Jeff Alderman, who remains as Alton's athletics director. Dickerson was an assistant under Alderman those three seasons and adds 10 more years of experience assisting at East Alton-Wood River and his alma mater Alton Marquette, where he graduated in 1996.
Dickerson was hired Feb. 17 and had several months to prepare for Monday's opening practice.
"It helped a lot," Dickerson said. "It's why I was excited even before the first practice. We got to go through a whole summer and you build your football team and lay the foundation for success in the summer."
The Redbirds lost 22 seniors off last season's 5-4 squad and return on a couple of starters on both sides of the ball. Dickerson knows there will be some growing pains, but it wasn't something that snuck up on him or his staff.
"We knew coming in," Dickerson said, "but we'll just need some of the younger guys to step up and fill the voids. I think it's an advantage to know the kids and have them know me so they know what I expect of them.”
Senior Asa Collins, one of the top returning starters and one of the best two-way players in the Southwestern Conference, said he has plenty of confidence in Dickerson.
"It's up to us to make it easier for him," said Collins, who plays defensive end and running back. "And I honestly think we can be better than we were last year when were over .500. If our defense can stay as good as it was last year and it's a matter of us coming together, I can see us being tough. We definitely won't back down against anyone."
While Dickerson is familiar, there will be changes.
"There's a lot of new plays," Collins said. "It's why we have to work hard in these early practices to get on the same page. We will rely on our underclassmen, but they had a better record than the varsity, so that's not a bad thing."
Alton opens the season at 7 p.m. Aug. 28 when it plays host to to Rock Island at Public School Stadium.
Collins said he feels this is the start of something big at Alton.
"I feel like this is the ground floor of building this program," Collins said. "I'm proud that I'll be part of the senior class that gets things started."
