When Kent Keith walks around the Poplar Bluff campus these days, he does so with a big smile on his face.
Now in his sixth year as the Mules athletic director, Keith and the athletic programs he oversees are finally settling into their new facilities on the first official day of practice Monday for high schools across Missouri.
This time last year, nearly all six of the Mules' fall teams played a waiting game. Some were moved to temporary practice facilities as they awaited the completion of their new state-of-the-art facilities while others battled for preparation time on a shared space.
A year removed from having to travel all over the city, Poplar Bluff athletes were enjoying their new on-campus facilities Monday, and it seems to already be having a positive impact on the teams.
"Everything is done, teams are where they need to be to have the best season possible and that's a blessing," Keith said.
The Poplar Bluff soccer team kicked off the day with practice before the sun even rose Monday. First-year coach Rusty Crafton and the Mules beat the heat by hitting the turf field with temperatures in the mid-60s at Mules Stadium around 6 a.m.
"Today and the next few days is all about getting back in soccer shape," Crafton said. "We're doing two-a-days this week to get preseason conditioned and that's going to give us a boost for the rest of the year."
The soccer Mules will need a boost from their younger players as well. Poplar Bluff returns four starters and will need to replace 12 seniors, including a core group of Alex Reyes, Jeffry Hardin, Adam Vincent and goalie Trevor Fredwell.
"We're going to have to build off the guys coming back but like I told them this morning, everything is wide open," Crafton said. "We've got some key positions to fill and we're ready to rebuild while being competitive."
The soccer team may have gotten first dibs on the turf, but they'll be sharing it with the football team over the next four months.
After practicing at Bacon Park for much of the preseason a year ago, Mules football coach Mark Barousse and his players took to Mules Stadium to open the season Monday.
"As far as being here at the facility -- being able to dress and go straight out to practice instead of going to Bacon, it is 10 times nicer," Barousse said.
Practice schedules between the football and soccer teams and the shared facility at Mules Stadium will be made even easier once the grass on a practice field just behind the tennis court is ready in the next week.
Barousse said he and Crafton also have organized a detailed plan to accommodate for both teams and where they'll practice once school starts.
"We'll be on the grass Monday through Wednesday and soccer will be on the grass Thursday through the rest of the week," Barousse said. "I'd rather be on the grass anyways because I think it's easier on the ankles and joints, so it's working out for both teams."
Monday was a regular day of practice for Barousse and the Mules who return seven to eight players on offense and eight to nine on defense. Players were limited wearing just helmets but got plenty of reps and conditioning in. They'll transition into full pads and start hitting on the fourth day of practice, leading up to their first game against Riverview Gardens at home on August 18.
"You can get a lot done in just helmets," Barousse said. "I think they lucked out with the heat but we pushed it a little today."
The dual softball and baseball field located northeast of the high school has been up and ready for use since the spring of 2015 but it won't be used by the softball team until at least the start of the school year. The Mules, under the guide of head coach Lisa Boyer, will instead utilize the natural grass and dirt field at Bacon Park to start the preseason workouts for the second straight year.
"With school not being in session right now we kind of have the option of going back and forth between the two fields," Boyer said. "We're doing two-a-days so we'll be scrimmaging on (the turf field), but for now we want to get some work in on the natural surface."
Boyer said she plans on moving all practices at the high school once school starts with a group of about 22 players that feature seven returning starters.
"We're pretty excited about the prospect of having almost everybody back," Boyer said. "Obviously we lost Gracie King and Lexi Hafford -- and they were big losses -- but I like the experience we've got back."
Back on campus, the Poplar Bluff's girls tennis team enjoyed the sights and sounds of summer rather than the deafening noise of construction vehicles they dealt with on a daily basis last year.
The tennis team was left practicing on three courts in the middle of a construction site at the middle school this time last year. A majority of the tennis complex was built, but the hot July weather prohibited workers from laying down special acrylic paint.
On Monday, tennis coach Charles Harper enjoyed a practice without distraction for the first time in two years.
"It's a great feeling to know there aren't any distractions," Harper said. "I walked out here, set everything up and there were no issues."
Harper's Mules will be young this season with five returners and one senior.
"Even our returners are still kind of growing and learning," Harper said. "I think the girls program can get to the success level the boys have but we're going to have to grow up."
The volleyball team was in a similar situation last year, having to wait it out in Peters Gym and the middle school, the site of the old high school, until the new gym floor at the Senior High School was sealed and stained.
The volleyball Mules moved into the new gym just before the start of their season.
"It feels good to start in the same place where we're going to finish," volleyball coach Amanda Lance said. "You can already tell there aren't as many distractions and everybody knows where they need to be."
Doni Everts and Hannah Vaughn are the lone seniors for the Mules, who return two juniors and five sophomores.
"We're going to be young this year, which is fine with me," Lance said. "So far, from what I've seen this summer, we've got a very good group of girls."
About 15 runners were in attendance at Hendrickson Park for the cross country team's first official practice run of the season but head coach Beth Lewis-Muse is hoping more turn out later this week.
"We've got some returners but only three boys so that's basically an entirely new team," Lewis-Muse said. "We're just figuring out what we have and getting our legs ready."
Once school starts, the cross country Mules will move back onto campus with the rest of the athletic programs. Lewis-Muse said she has mapped out a course that will take runners from the baseball field, down to the tennis court and into the woods north of campus where they'll face two vicious hills.
"We're excited about it because most of the time this is the only course we run for practice," Lewis-Muse said. "I think they'll like that it's something new and it'll be nice to have everybody on campus."