COLUMBIA, S.C. — Shane Beamer has led his first practice as the head coach of South Carolina.
The first-year head coach will make his debut on Sept. 4 against Eastern Illinois but before that, a lot of work has to be completed before the finished product is ready for the first game of the season and even then, the product will continue to refined throughout the season.
“It was exciting,” Beamer told South Carolina athletic media relations.
“I took a moment before I walked onto the field just to think about how grateful I am to have this opportunity and in 22 years of coaching all the “Day Ones” that I’ve had as an assistant coach. This is obviously the most special one that I’ve ever had of Day One, so it was great from that standpoint sentimentally.
“And then practice, I also thought was good,” continued the first-year head coach. “For Day One I thought we did a lot of really good things – not a lot of sloppiness, not a lot of people on the ground. We talked about practicing the right way and being able to practice with each other the right way. I thought we did a good job from that standpoint. Obviously we have a long way to go, but it was a good start.”
The Gamecocks will be back on the practice fields again on Saturday morning.