We may be over two months away from the kickoff of the high school football season, but the hot summer months are when team bonds are formed and when average players do the work necessary to become great. This is the first installment of NovaSportsFan's exclusive Cardinal and Commonwealth District Football previews. We will cover EVERY school, giving you the full picture of what will play out this fall on a gridiron near you.

Whenever a coach first takes the reins of a AAA high school football program, the learning curve is usually steep. Systems need to be implemented, assistants hired, and players sold on the new coach. As Woodbridge's Kevin Smith readies his team for his first full season as head coach, he knows things won't be easy, but the foundations are certainly in place. 

In 2009, the Vikings were 10-1 (6-0 Cardinal District) on the way to winning the Cardinal District championship. They notched decisive regular season victories against Colonial Forge, Hylton, Potomac, and Osbourn Park. Their sole loss on the year was to the same impressive Osbourn Park team in the Northwest Regional Semifinals. NovaSportsFan's exclusive interview with Coach Smith can be found in its entirety below.

NovaSportsFan- This is your first year as head coach at Woodbridge High School?

Coach Smith- Yes, my first official season.

NovaSportsFan- What was your record last year? Overall and District.

Coach Smith- 10-1 overall, 6-0 in the district.

NovaSportsFan- And how did you finish, did you win the district?

Coach Smith- Yes, we lost in the semifinals of the Northwest Region playoffs to Osbourn Park.

NovaSportsFan- What are the biggest games on your schedule this year?

Coach Smith- Colonial Forge, because they have a lot coming back and they are slated as probably one of the top five teams in AAA state rankings. A lot of people are picking them to contend for the state title in division six. So it's a good measuring stick to see where we are. We play them Week 2, game 2. It's a good measuring stick to see where we're at, see what we need to work on. And then, obviously all the district games are huge, because if you win the district you get an automatic bid to the playoffs. I mean, that's seven games that are pretty big ones. Every game is big, especially when you start talking power points and Cardinal District Championships, and things of that nature.

NovaSportsFan- What's your team's basic offensive scheme, spread or do you run a pro-style offense?

Coach Smith- We run a pro-style offense.

NovaSportsFan- Coach, what players do you think are primed to have a breakout season for you on offense, defense, and special teams? 

Coach Smith- On offense, I believe we have three offensive linemen that are going to have breakout years: Andrew Mattox, Jordan Hairston, and Michael Leathers. They've gotten some attention in the past, but they're now primed to be focused on a little more, now that they're the upperclassmen of the group. I'm hoping that Corey Taylor is going to have a breakout year at quarterback, replacing Frank Buckley, who was two- time First Team Cardinal District and was last year's offensive MVP. It's going be tough to fill his shoes.

I'm hoping that Logan Farrar, who started for us last year on defense, is going to move to offense and play wide receiver and a little bit of the Wildcat position. Jaylen Avent, who was our running back last year was a little bit under the radar. Now that's he made a name for himself in the nine games he played in last year on offense, everybody's going to be gunning for him. Those guys right there, I think they're ready. This is their year to breakout and make names for themselves in the region and in the state.

On defense, we have Abraham Quarcoo, this is his breakout year. He's been behind Darryl Haley the last couple years, who was second team all-state this past year. He was phenomenal; started for us the last three years. Now Quarcoo has to step up and be the leader along with a guy named Darius Parsons. He's about 6'2'' 220. He's primed; he played football for us last year but he had two-year layoff because he's also a basketball player. We were really surprised with what he brought to the table for us last year and think that this year, like the question says, is his "breakout year." Also on defense, you have Jaylen and Logan; they started for us last year all ten games on defense as freshmen. Logan Farrar was a corner, and Jaylen was our strong safety. We're looking for them to have breakout years. Also, on offense and defense, we're looking for Jarrell Phillips to really excel this year. 

NovaSportsFan: Do you have any players who are early commitments?

Coach Smith: Not right now.

NovaSportsFan: Do you have a mantra or team motto that you like to go by?

Coach Smith: This year our motto is "We Are ONE." We want to be more team-first with the way we do things. Be held accountable for your actions. The actions that you take as an individual affect everyone. And that's the one thing the staff wants the student athletes to understand is: If you mess up here, this is how it affects the other 50 or 60 players on the varsity or jv team. So we want to go with the "We Are ONE" motto where they are held accountable for their actions and they know every decision they make on and off the field affects everyone, not just themselves. And that's the one thing that when met as a staff this year, when we assembled everybody together, that I told them: we need to hold everybody accountable for what they do. Good and bad; it's not always bad. We have a lot of upperclassmen that are hitting the weight room hard for the first time in their life; as far as being in there and assuming leadership roles as upperclassmen. Those are positive consequences. And we tell them that; if they keep showing up it forces the freshmen to keep showing up. We've had a bigger group of freshmen than before hitting the weight room on a daily basis. And I try to tell them that, because sometimes it's hard for them to see it. Like, you were here this many days, but look who else was here, pushing each other.

NovaSportsFan: That'll do it for my questions coach; is there anything you'd like to add?

Coach Smith: We're just excited this year. I'm obviously excited being my first year as a head coach and being able to take over a program that Keith King brought into the spotlight of the state of Virginia. I'm excited to take on the challenge of taking over a great program and hopefully continuing it.

NovaSportsFan: Thank you for this opportunity, Coach. It's been a pleasure.

Coach Smith: Thank you Joey.