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Annen era gets off to a booming start at Carmel

A fun, upbeat mix of music blasted over the loudspeakers at Carmel's football stadium Monday morning.

Welcome to the first official day of dance class - wait, check that - make that football practice for the Corsairs.

Monday marked the IHSA's first official day of football practice for teams all over the state. The season starts in just three weeks, with Friday Night Lights returning on Aug. 24.

Carmel will debut with a new head coach, Blake Annen, a native of Ohio who played tight end at the University of Cincinnati and also played in the NFL with five teams, including the Chicago Bears.

At age 27, Annen seems to have his finger on the pulse of what teenagers like, and that includes loud music at practice.

"We've got the music working today, we're running around, we're laughing, it's good. It's fun to be out here," Carmel senior running back Sean Lynch said. "I hope we get that all the time, to keep the energy up."

Annen, already strategizing, sees another purpose for the music.

"We'll definitely keep it up (for fun), because at the end of the day, we're trying to have fun out here," Annen said. "But part of my coaching philosophy is that I want to try to make practices harder than the games. The music is going to be as loud as I can make it, so if they can communicate with music and are able to think with music blaring at them, hopefully the games will be easier for them.

"It's just something a little different to kind of mix it up, kind of keep them on their toes a little bit."

The Corsairs are already in 'be ready for anything' mode.

The hiring of Annen marked a major transition at the school. Carmel had been led by the same head coach, Andy Bitto, for the previous 20 seasons. Bitto went 147-84 and led the Corsairs to the Class 6A state title in 2003.

Bitto, also the school's athletic director, resigned as head football coach last fall and is no longer with the school.

"In the past, people are used to Carmel being a winning program and that's the biggest thing for me, just wanting to get everybody thinking one day at a time and making those building blocks one at a time so that we can build on that and get back to that," Annen said.

"The goal should be to wake up hungry every single day. As long as we just worry about today, eventually we will get to where we want to be."

To do that, Annen likely will shift away from Carmel's traditional triple-option attack and mix in a variety of styles on offense. He wants to keep opposing teams guessing, and that sits well with Lynch.

"Coach Blake brought in a great staff," said Lynch, who is beginning his third year on varsity. "He's doing a great job. We look good. We're going to be well-coached and that should pay off.

"Everyone is conditioned. We're training a lot. We're smaller this year, but we're going to be faster. We're excited."

Carmel, which plays in the rugged East Suburban Catholic Conference, has a tall task this season, coming off a 1-8 record. It was the fourth time in six years that the Corsairs missed the playoffs.

Getting to the postseason is a big goal for Carmel, as it is for many teams each season.

Seven of the 14 teams in the Daily Herald's Lake County coverage area made the playoffs in 2017, including Lake Zurich, which advanced the furthest.

The Bears made it all the way to the Class 7A state championship game but came up short, losing to Batavia, 21-14.

Lake Zurich returns eight starters from 2017, including six on defense.

  Quarterback Avery Bugaj, second from left, finds a receiver during first day of football practice at Carmel High School in Mundelein on Monday. Paul Valade/pvalade@dailyherald.com
  Running back Sean Lynch Jr., center, runs a pattern during first day of football practice at Carmel High School in Mundelein on Monday. Offensive lineman Jalen Snell, right, leads the way. Paul Valade/pvalade@dailyherald.com
  Quarterback Stephen Gracia warms up during first day of football practice at Carmel High School in Mundelein on Monday. Paul Valade/pvalade@dailyherald.com
  Offensive lineman Jalen Snell, center, during the first day of football practice at Carmel High School in Mundelein on Monday. Paul Valade/pvalade@dailyherald.com
  Players run drills during the first day of football practice at Carmel High School in Mundelein on Monday. Paul Valade/pvalade@dailyherald.com
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