Northwestern University Athletics
First Practice at Kenosha Feels Like Midseason
8/11/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 11, 2004
KENOSHA, Wis. - The first day of Camp Kenosha felt like midseason -- both literally and figuratively. It certainly felt like a day for football.
The few fans who attended Wednesday morning's session at the UW-Parkside campus were greeted by blustery winds, intermittent rain and steady cloud cover -- weather suited more for mid-October than August.
On the field, as expected, there was a great deal of enthusiasm as the team "officially" kicked off the 2004 season.
"We feel like preseason has now officially started," said head coach Randy Walker. "Part of it is that you just can't escape in Evanston -- we get so busy in the office, and we're answering email or taking phone messages. It is nice to get here and all you have to do is play football and coach football. The isolation and the ability to lock in and focus up here is exceptional, and it feels like we are in camp now and ready to go full speed."
With just one session set up for the first couple of days here, Walker extended practice beyond what he might normally do. His practices seldom go beyond 17 "periods" of about six minutes each, but on Wednesday he had the players out for 22 periods.
"We took a couple of breaks, so they could take their headgear off and get off their feet and get watered up pretty good," he said. "It is demanding -- by the time we stretch and go through practice it will be nearly three hours before they walk off the field, and that's a long day. But we also feel like that is what they are capable of handling, and part of camp is to push yourself when it is tiring and demanding, and getting used to being in a demanding place. I felt like they handled it pretty well.
"There is more time for team and group work then what you would normally take in a two-hour session, except maybe during the season," he continued, talking about the numerous 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills conducted despite the fact that the players were not in full pads. "Here in the preseason, though, we are still emphasizing the individual, and the amount of time we get to work on it helps us out."
Walker and his staff spent a good amount of time teaching the newcomers the practice routine, from the various positional drills to pre and post-practice exercises such as stretching and "fourth-quarter." Do not expect that to last long.
"We will give them about one day, because most of what we ask is very simple," said Walker. "But as Vince Lombardi once said, 'fatigue makes cowards of us all' -- to me, that also includes the mental aspect. You get out here and you are puffing and panting and acting tired, and you quit thinking. Great football players never quit thinking; they are always focused. That is where we are trying to take these guys."
As a cheshire-cat grin spread across his face, he continued: "I will give them a certain amount of slack for a day or so, but it won't be long before we start tightening it up and becoming the team we need to be."
With positional meetings set for this afternoon, and a team meeting tonight, Walker is excited to have the Wildcats up here and ready to focus on the season.
"I think there is a certain amount of anxiety, there always is," he said. "I was anxious to get up here and get the season started -- you get nervous and you are saying, 'let's go!' I haven't slept for three nights, and most of the guys are probably the same way. But we'll settle in, and soon fatigue will make sure we all get to sleep, and we will get into a routine because this is a routine-oriented thing.
"No more distractions; let's play football."
