Knowing the 2019 Buckeyes today are moving into their hotel, which they will call home for the next couple weeks, brought back memories. Despite the hotel digs, it should not be confused with vacation...
Training camp is the by far the hardest part of football. It’s the grueling price you have to pay for the privilege of experiencing game days in the ‘Shoe. And the comfy confines of the hotel to the contrary, moving-in day means hard practice days are ahead. We’ll get more into the regimen of training camp and what I see coming for the offense especially this year in the next couple of weeks. But the move-in day means your normal life has been put on hold for an extended period. Simple pleasures, such as running out to Chipotle for a burrito, are not an option because you are squesteres, for the most part, for the duration.
It comes down to your TV and your bed. Having a nice working air conditioner and a good flat screen TV are clutch. Since you have HBO you can watch Hard Knocks, and compare what those guys are going through to what you are experiencing. But true breaks during this time are rare for the players. I know when some of my buddies and I had a little time we played NHL ‘07 on Xbox one camp. Jon Skinner, Kyle Mitchum and I played that game every night of one preseason stay in the hotel. It gave us something to talk trash about the next day at practice. I always took Teemu Selanne and the Mighty Ducks, and I dominated.
But those couple of weeks in the hotel were vital for team building. The reason being, there are times when you are really in pain, you’re sore, you’re aching, and you know you have a two-a day the next day. To be able to have, for example, a Jon Skinner and a Tyler Whaley around, guys who could always make me laugh, that helped you get through it.
The toughest part of preseason camp each year seemed to come in the middle of the second week. You haven’t had a day off, and the cumulative effect of practicing, of grinding every single day, you’re just sore. It takes your body some time to get use to the contact that football demands. Once the season starts your body is conditioned to the physicality of it.
With the rules today, players don’t have to endure two-a-day practice on consecutive days. That rule came into effect my first year in 2003, and though preseason that year was still grueling for me, being a freshman, it seemed to become more tolerable my last four years. As you become a veteran, you learn what can make your life easier in camp. For example, my third year I brought a mini-fridge to camp for my hotel room because I wanted cold water and cold Muscle Milk at night. It is amazing how much better a cold drink tastes at night compare to room-temperature. Sometimes it’s just the little things that can make things seem much better.
But the main thing you looked forward to at the hotel was rest. You were busy all day almost every day, and the wake-up call came at 6 a.m., with us expected in our seats in the meeting room at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center by 7 a.m. when the new day really began.
Again, training camp, especially these next two weeks, are what set football apart. It’s not for everybody.
Training camp is the by far the hardest part of football. It’s the grueling price you have to pay for the privilege of experiencing game days in the ‘Shoe. And the comfy confines of the hotel to the contrary, moving-in day means hard practice days are ahead. We’ll get more into the regimen of training camp and what I see coming for the offense especially this year in the next couple of weeks. But the move-in day means your normal life has been put on hold for an extended period. Simple pleasures, such as running out to Chipotle for a burrito, are not an option because you are squesteres, for the most part, for the duration.
It comes down to your TV and your bed. Having a nice working air conditioner and a good flat screen TV are clutch. Since you have HBO you can watch Hard Knocks, and compare what those guys are going through to what you are experiencing. But true breaks during this time are rare for the players. I know when some of my buddies and I had a little time we played NHL ‘07 on Xbox one camp. Jon Skinner, Kyle Mitchum and I played that game every night of one preseason stay in the hotel. It gave us something to talk trash about the next day at practice. I always took Teemu Selanne and the Mighty Ducks, and I dominated.
But those couple of weeks in the hotel were vital for team building. The reason being, there are times when you are really in pain, you’re sore, you’re aching, and you know you have a two-a day the next day. To be able to have, for example, a Jon Skinner and a Tyler Whaley around, guys who could always make me laugh, that helped you get through it.
The toughest part of preseason camp each year seemed to come in the middle of the second week. You haven’t had a day off, and the cumulative effect of practicing, of grinding every single day, you’re just sore. It takes your body some time to get use to the contact that football demands. Once the season starts your body is conditioned to the physicality of it.
With the rules today, players don’t have to endure two-a-day practice on consecutive days. That rule came into effect my first year in 2003, and though preseason that year was still grueling for me, being a freshman, it seemed to become more tolerable my last four years. As you become a veteran, you learn what can make your life easier in camp. For example, my third year I brought a mini-fridge to camp for my hotel room because I wanted cold water and cold Muscle Milk at night. It is amazing how much better a cold drink tastes at night compare to room-temperature. Sometimes it’s just the little things that can make things seem much better.
But the main thing you looked forward to at the hotel was rest. You were busy all day almost every day, and the wake-up call came at 6 a.m., with us expected in our seats in the meeting room at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center by 7 a.m. when the new day really began.
Again, training camp, especially these next two weeks, are what set football apart. It’s not for everybody.
