Central Valley High School's football program completed its first week of practice under new head coach Jason McCloskey's guidance.

"The kids are responding to the challenges that are in front of them," he said. "The effort's been good."

The Hawks practiced Monday through Thursday (3:30-7 p.m.) and Saturday (8-11 a.m.).

Returning Central Valley coaches Antone Lopez, Derrick Goblirsch, Jim Patterson, Jesse Padilla and Joe Borba provided assistance.

"The staff has been a big help," McCloskey said. "We're meeting before practice and organizing everything."

Senior quarterback Abraham Navarro and his Central Valley teammates learned new plays and terminology, and lifted weights.

"You use all of your energy at practice," Navarro said. "There's no down time. The intensity is really high. You can feel it. The mentality has changed."

"We're working hard as a team," McCloskey said. "I can't wait until I can put some pads on them and see what they're capable of. Everybody is expecting good things."

McCloskey said his team would be fast on offense and tough on defense.

"We're not trying to re-invent anything," he said. "We're going to improve on what's there. It's a process. It's going to take time."

"I thought it would take a long time to get used to," Navarro said while talking about the change in leadership. "Coach Mac is on top of everything. He makes sure everybody gets reps. He's telling us we need to work hard so we can be good. We know it's not going to be easy."

Star running back Ja'Quan Gardner suffered a face injury during Tuesday's practice. He had two teeth jarred loose when he collided with a teammate.

"We're not tackling or going live," McCloskey said. "It was a freak accident."