SNYDER — As a general rule of thumb, a football coach will often see the largest amount of improvement in his team during his second season. 

The reason for this is simple: Not only will his team have a full year in his system under its belt, but a valuable amount of extra practice time will suddenly become available without the need to constantly explain concepts.

This equates to more reps and quicker-moving, more-efficient practices. When combined with the better on-field decision making a year of experience brings, a second season usually produces a better product in the absence of heavy graduation losses. 

That was to be the case at Snyder, with a large contingent of returning starters (15 of 22) and lettermen (20) back for second-year coach Wes Wood.  With the COVID-19 lockdown, however, SHS found itself dealing with a frustrating athletic stoppage just when they expected to take a step forward.