Garland Lakeview had finished 1-9, losing its last eight games of 2006. Coach Don Willis' record in two seasons at the school was 4-16.

Something, the coach knew, had to change.

"We felt that we needed to do something to get all the kids on the same page in terms of work ethic," Willis said.

Willis' solution was boot camp, a rigorous daily routine during the off-season intended to boost the team's discipline. The program started before spring practice and demanded perfection from the players in every aspect of their day.

Willis' assistants suggested the program. They'd heard it had been used at Cedar Hill and other schools.

"From the time we saw the kids in the morning, through the classes and in the hall, they had to do every little thing right," Willis said. "It's just like the military; everything has to be in tip-top shape."

Senior quarterback Shaun DePolo had experienced something similar at Mesquite.

"I knew it would be good for the program," DePolo said. "At first, everyone was skeptical about it, because they'd never been through it."

The goal for the players was the "perfect day," meaning nobody could make a mistake in the eyes of the coaches. And with the players being on command all day, the mistakes often were small.

"I got an infraction for missing one push-up," senior lineman Pat Mason said. "If you didn't do it, they saw it. They saw everything."

Other infractions included not having a shirt tucked in, being disciplined in class or talking out of turn in a meeting. Willis said that initially, the response from the players was not favorable, but the coach knew that it was teaching them important lessons.

"They didn't like the idea that their outcome was based on the entire team doing everything correct," Willis said. "When we punish one, we punish everyone. It was like a game. When you jump offsides, all of the team is punished."

It took the team 41/2 weeks to obtain its first perfect day, but when the coaches announced the good news, the wait was worth it.

LOUIS DeLUCA/DMN

Quarterback Shaun DePolo says boot camp is just a start for Garland Lakeview, which won last week and ended a nine-game losing streak.

"It was like winning the Super Bowl," Mason said with a laugh. "We were all jumping up and down, giving fives, pounding on the walls. We went crazy. When you start, the perfect day seems like it's so far away. But once you get the first one, you'll get another, and another and another."

Boot camp ended soon afterward, after the squad had strung together a series of perfect days. DePolo said that going through boot camp helped the players grow, but now the onus is on their play on the field.

"You can't just rely on boot camp," DePolo said. "It gives you a boost, but then it's up to you."

Boot camp might have had something to do with Lakeview's 50-14 rout of Richardson last week, the team's first win in 10 games. And Willis, who said that Lakeview may continue the program during the next off-season, is seeing the shift in the team for which he was looking.

"We've seen the attitudes of the kids change so much," Willis said. "They're making each other accountable. When we're doing conditioning at the end and it gets grueling, they'll say, 'We've gone though boot camp, we can do this.' "

Garland Lakeview (1-1) vs. Arlington Sam Houston (0-1), 7:30 p.m. Friday, Arlington's Wilemon Field

TURNABOUT?

Garland Lakeview broke a nine-game losing streak with Friday's 50-14 win over Richardson. A comparison of the team's statistics during the streak with those in the victory: