Teeth Whitening at Merrillville

1. Football season is around the corner folks and Coach Brad Seiss led the first practice on Monday at Merrillville High school. This is first season for the Merrillville Football coach. Go Pirates! Brad Seiss blew his whistle as Merrillville's football team completed a drill. "Nice punt," Seiss said. The next play started prematurely. "Whoa," Seiss said. "Can't snap until he says, 'Set.'" The Pirates were more than ready to go for the first practice of the fall on Monday at Merrillville High School. Even the mistakes were made out of eagerness. Monday also marked the next chapter in Seiss' coaching career. He is in his first season at Merrillville. "The kids have done a good job," Seiss said. "As long as all the paperwork is in and the administrative end is taken care of on the first day, that's your No. 1 goal you want to accomplish. Seiss spent three seasons at Muncie Central, where he went 13-17. He takes over for Zac Wells, who is now the defensive coordinator at 2014 Illinois Class 8A state runner-up Homewood- Flossmoor. "The best part of the first day is knowing you're going to have multiple days in a row," Seiss said. "In the summer, you want the kids to still have a summer. You have a few days off here and there. And then you get your moratorium weeks. "Just the fact that we're going to have these guys for, hopefully through November, is what the goal is. School is getting ready to start and there is excitement with the first game coming up. "One thing that's really good is that we established a good foundation here. That's been in place for a really long time."

2. Merrillville announced Seiss' hiring in April. He played college football at Ball State. "I really like him," said senior defensive tackle Shawn Streck. "He's a good guy. He runs his practice similar to coach Wells, which is the way I like to run practice. "… Everybody is buying in and believing that we can do something special in his first year and our last year." Seiss said the first few practices go beyond fine-tuning plays. "One thing that I really preach to our guys is that this is the seniors' team," he said. "They have to be leaders and they have to be guys that really lead everybody that is younger than them. "Establishing how things are going to be, who the leaders are and figuring out the guys you can count on, that's the big part of the first few days." The seniors have embraced the message. "Just make sure we go hard every play so the young guys can see what they need to be like," senior running back Isaiah Thornton said. "Don't goof around. You don't have time for that. Make sure you lead by example." That attitude has helped the transition. "The thing I'm most impressed with is the kids have a great worth ethic," Seiss said. "They are eager to learn, eager to play football. They want to be good. And that's great. As a coach, when you have guys that want to do what it takes to be successful, that's always a good thing. And that's a big thanks to coach Wells, all the assistant coaches, everybody that's been here before. We have a lot of good things in place. "The kids want to be good and expect to be good." Football 2015 Key dates

3. Monday: Practice began. Friday-Saturday, Aug. 14-15: Scrimmages. Friday, Aug. 21: Opening night. Sunday, Oct. 11: Sectional draw. Friday, Oct. 23: Sectionals begin. Friday-Saturday, Nov. 27-28: State finals. Its never to late to get that checkup in at Excel Dental Studio, Call our office today to schedule your appointment!