If you’re wondering what the Miners football squad is up to this summer, you can catch them Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings on the Dozier Field turf. 

The Miners are running sprints then at 9 a.m., preparing for the 2024 season. 

The spring sessions are led by the head boys track and field coach Dave Yocum. Yocum pushed the boys for about half-an-hour Friday morning, afterwards they were off to lift weights with the schools new strength and conditioning coach Matt Herhal. 

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Herhal works with the entire school and its athletic programs, coming to Park City this spring from Columbia University. At Columbia, Herhal was the school’s associate director of sport performance. He spent over a decade in that role. 

“We’re blessed to have one of the best speed developers in the state,” said football head coach Josh Montzingo, watching his boys warm up for their running. “Our head track coach, Dave Yocum, does an amazing job for us. He gives his time and energy to the kids. He’s a blessing.”

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Montzingo said the morning running sessions typically last around 45 minutes. He’s turned to these two experts to help condition his team to last through their upcoming 10-plus-game schedule this fall. The Miners season will begin Aug. 16 with a rivalry matchup against Wasatch on the road. 

“Our new strength and conditioning coach, Matt Herhal, he’s also a great dude,” added Montzingo. “We’re really blessed this summer. I think we’re going to be at our peak condition that we’ve ever been.”

Park City will look to continue to contend at the state level this season, even after losing 24 seniors last season. Montzingo expects key contributors this season to be running back Eli Warner, quarterback Bash Bodily and defensive lineman Noah Joiner. 

Montzingo expects 85% attendance during the summer at these and other workouts, knowing kids have their lives to live and plans during the summers as well. He said the team’s leaders always show up though. 

Montzingo added the boys are definitely finding out what a college workout is like under Herhal. 

“If you’re one of those who took the summer off and you spent the summer in the Galapagos, you just roll in in your skinny jeans, and jump off your mountain bike, and hope for the best when we start up at the end of July, they’re the ones dragging tail and having a hard time keeping up and kind of questioning life,” said Montzingo. 

“The ones who have been here all summer are like, ‘okay, this is a little harder, because we’re doing some practice now,’ but for them, it’s kind of another day. They’ve done hard things all summer long, and they’re reaping the benefits of feeling stronger and faster, and like they don’t have nearly as many bumps and bruises, because their body’s kind of used to being pushed and pulled.”

The team also does schematics-related work on Tuesday and Thursday nights on Dozier. As Montzingo mentioned, they’ll strap on their pads again July 29. 

Montzingo said the hardest days to push through during the summers are Fridays and Mondays. He makes sure to push his guys, especially with the weekends off. 

Montzingo believes these sessions and some of the repetitions his underclassmen got last season, filling in for injured stars, will help them combat their youth this season. The Miners got shutout at Rice-Eccles Stadium in the state semifinals last fall 21-0 to Green Canyon. 

“A lot of key positions are lost from there, but there was a lot of young talent behind that,” said Montzingo. “Got a lot of experience last year, Eli Warner coming in that running back spot behind Will (McCurdy, last year’s graduating starter).Will was hurt for a good half the season, so he got incredible reps. It’s almost it’s having a returning starter coming back, which is a blessing.”

“The same is true in our quarterback spot with Bash, having to jump in. When Lincoln (Jackson, last year’s graduated starter as well) was hurt, Bodily, he went about half the season there and developed into a leader, and really showed how he can play this position.”

Montzingo believes the lines will be crucial to this team’s success, as they are with most squads at any level. The majority of the team’s losses come on defense. Montzingo said his offense will score and the defense will come along. 

Montzingo said having these outside coaches lead summer training sessions, knowing the kids from other sports is a huge advantage. Yocum and Herhal are able to push the guys to exactly where they need to be. Montzingo chuckled a bit when talking about Herhal’s high-intensity lifting workouts that come right after Yocum’s running sessions, which he loves but knows may not be the boys’ favorites. 

Once the team tosses on pads, they’ll be practicing Monday through Saturdays getting ready for the season. 

“If you want to play college athletics, you’re going to have to be disciplined,” said Montzingo. “You can’t just want to do it once in a while, it needs to be a full time commitment.”

“They’re not losing anything by playing other sports, they’re actually gaining. It’s more if they’re sitting around on their butts playing Xbox, that’s where they’re starting to lose some stuff.”

Warner had nearly 1000 yards rushing as just a sophomore last fall. He was a participant Friday in what were jumping, core and endurance exercises out on the turf. He said the toughest part isn’t the running, but the new strength workouts. 

“They really push us,” said Warner. “They’re tough, and the most fun part is when we’re out here on Tuesday and Thursday nights just playing sevens (seven-on-seven scrimmages).”

Warner said he can already feel improvements in his strength and speed compared to last year. He thinks this work can get them over the hump in the final stage of the state playoffs this season. The Miners are still chasing the first state title in program history. 

For the Miners entire, regular season schedule, see their MaxPreps page. Their regular season will wrap Oct. 16 against 5A foe Springville, who got the best of them on senior night last season. The Miners only have four home games this season.