First Impressions

     The first three days are in the books, with that the first impressions have been made.  After checking in the first day and having preliminary meetings, we get down to football.  The first two days of practice were no pads and just helmet.  The coaches already know most all of the players by now, but the first days are still very important.  They are a litmus test of how much you have improved over the summer and how much you remember from Spring football.  Overall the two practices were very good.  We were flying around to the ball and had some enthusiasm on the defensive side.  Kaufman mentioned that you could see the enthusiasm in our actions instead of our words.  There wasn't much yelling and ra ra type stuff, just confident play and encouraging our teammates.  Even though we didn't have pads on the first two days were tough.

     Camp brings a special type of adversity that brings the hardest part of the whole year.  This time is long, strenuous, and challenging both mentally and physically.  This Camp is a little different because we have school this first week of camp, which cuts out football time for the morning.  Usually we are up there early in the morning till late at night... which will be here soon enough (Monday).  Meetings, practice, eating, workouts, walk through, and more meetings take up our time at the facility.  Days begin to run together and you loose track of time.  Adversity is unavoidable... every athlete has off days, makes mistakes, and comes to a breaking point.  It is the will to push through this that brings the team together and is the outcome of Camp.  Cold tubs are mandatory and I hate every second of it... but you have to realize it's in your best interest.  We must push through and focus on this process if we want to meet our goals.  I love the process and will continue to focus on it in order to get results.  Being a champion is not accomplished in the stadium, but the everyday grind towards achieving your dreams.  "Winning is a by-product of being a fearless champion."

-Student of the Game

Here are some videos from the first three days from YouTube: