Less than 12 hours after the California football team lost its Class 3 semifinal Nov. 21 game at Oak Grove, several players were up bright and early the next morning to attend the Pintos' basketball practice at 8 a.m. in the high school gym.
Jaden Barr, Allan Burger, Landon Mouse, Drew Norton and Gavin Pickering slept only a handful of hours after returning home from Oak Grove, but still woke up for practice, against the advice of head basketball coach Blair Scanlon.
"I wanted them to rest Saturday and Sunday, then be here Monday," Scanlon said. "They came on their own, but that shows the type of character they have. For somebody to be at basketball practice the day after a semifinal football game, that's pretty amazing."
Despite his objections, Scanlon wasn't surprised to see the football players there. Barr is a returning starter for the hoops team, while Norton and Mouse saw good varsity minutes last year. The Pintos play their first basketball game Sunday, Dec. 7, against Warrensburg at a tournament in Columbia.
"It's a good example to follow," Scanlon said. "They are good kids, tough kids. California is a blue-collar town. The kids play sports, they work, a lot of them farm. They're tough kids. If we can get the skill-set to match that work ethic, we're a pretty tough opponent for anybody."
While Burger, Mouse, Norton and Pickering watched most of that first Saturday practice supporting their teammates from the sidelines, Barr went through all the drills.
"We could barely move, but we were here," said Barr, who transitions from starting quarterback to starting point guard. "There's not much break between basketball and football. It's tough, but that's part of being an athlete. (Scanlon) tried to make us go home, but we were already awake and couldn't sleep."
Along with providing leadership, the football players didn't want to miss anymore practice time since basketball officially began Nov. 3. Dylan Norton, Drew's twin brother, also plays both sports. Alex Dalbey played part of football season and joined basketball sooner than the others.
"Conditioning for basketball and football is totally different," said Mouse, a junior guard. "In basketball, you're going up and down the court constantly and it's hard to catch your breath. It wears on your legs. We've been focused on conditioning and getting back in shape for the upcoming games.
"We have a good group of basketball guys that don't play football and they were practicing hard, getting as much done as possible without us. It was tough for them, but they showed a lot of dedication while we were in football."
While everyone supported the football team's run in the state playoffs, it did hinder the start of basketball season.
"It definitely set us back quite a ways," Mouse said. "Most teams already have played a game or two. We pushed our schedule back because we've been going deep in the football playoffs. It really did set us back."
Along with missing practice time for football reasons, the basketball players also got a break on Thanksgiving. But the Pintos were right back in the gym at 10 a.m. Friday.
"We're still rusty and not in shape, but you can see a huge difference between (Monday, Nov. 24) and now," Scanlon said. "I can already see a little improvement, as far as conditioning and moving better. Every day, you'll see an increase."
Burger, a starting linebacker for the football team, acknowledged that it will take more time to peak for his new season.
"Being in shape for basketball is a lot different. It's more up and down, switching and changing directions. You have to get your basketball legs back," he said. "Football is speed for five, 10 seconds, then you rest for 20 seconds. You have a lot more rest in football. Basketball is more go-go. It's pretty hard to get back into basketball shape."
Even though it can be a difficult adjustment, Barr wouldn't miss basketball for anything. The Pintos were 18-8 last year and finished second in the Tri-County Conference behind Versailles.
"Basketball season is always fun. It's a long season, but worth it," he said. "We have a great group of seniors that will hopefully step up. Everybody is looking forward to a good year."