ROBERTSDALE, Ala. – The Fairhope Pirates will be inexperienced on both sides of the ball this season, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be successful.

Second-year head coach Adam Winegarden said he is excited to coach this group of Pirates because of the dedication they have shown in the off season.

“We’ve had a good summer, these kids have worked very hard and been very dedicated,” Winegarden said. “I’m very excited about this team. This team will be different, we have lot of new faces with only two starters back on defense and five on offense. But we have guys who are very capable. It is about how they learn to do their jobs the right way.”

Learning to play together as a team will be key for Winegarden’s Pirates.

“The main thing I’m concerned about is each player learning how to play a role, how to be a team player,” he said. “We’ve got a great group that loves to play hard. They just don’t have much experience playing as a unit.”

Fairhope enters the season with Grey Jackson as the presumed starter at quarterback. He started two games at the position last season.

“Grey is a polished passer and a very physical player,” Winegarden said. “I’m excited about seeing him progress this season.”

Linebacker Javon Curry said Jackson will surprise people this season.

“He runs full speed downhill and hits hard,” Curry said. “Grey will hit you. If you aren’t expecting he will come at you hard.”

Curry said Fairhope’s defense should be a strong point early in the season.

“We’ve been working hard this summer to try to be the best defense we can be,” Curry said. “We are still running the same packages and formations we’ve been running. I think we can be pretty good if we just do what our coaches tell us. They are going to put us in the right positions in the right situations, we just have to execute.”

Fairhope hosts St. Paul’s on Aug. 30 to open the regular season.