April 17, 2007
The past few weeks have been crazy for me. I thought that second semester of senior year was supposed to be a time for you to "cruise." Ever since I got back from spring break three weeks ago I feel like I have be going a million miles an hour. This will probably continue for the next few weeks and then hopefully I can enjoy myself for the last two or three weeks of school.
Spring ball started last week and it feels good to be out there running around again. I have missed the past two spring ball seasons because of shoulder injuries so I am happy to finally be participating again.
Standing on the sidelines for a whole month is/was brutal. The team looks pretty good so far. We lost a group of great players to graduation but we have another group of young players who are on the rise and are getting better everyday. We have a couple players out for the spring on defense but that hasn't slowed them down at all. Our first scrimmage was yesterday and if we handed out wins and losses I think the defense would have gotten the "W". It was sloppy at times, but some people made big plays too. It was pretty much what you would have expected after just two full padded practices. We have a few young players in key positions on offense and it might take a little while for everyone to gel, but it's just a matter of time.
We are putting an extra emphasis on special teams this spring and I think that it is going to benefit us next season. Last year our special teams were average at best and I think it was part of the reason we got off to a slow start. The coaches have allotted more periods during practice to get back to the fundamentals. Additionally, we have been having a special teams meeting every morning. Because of my previous shoulder injuries, I have not played a very big role on special teams the past couple seasons. However, I am much more involved in special teams this spring. So for me, the extra meeting time and the return to fundamentals has been very beneficial.
At this point we have finished five of our fifteen practices, we have another tomorrow and then we get to go home for a week for Easter. I'm tired and my body is sore. It will be nice to go home and catch up on sleep. Our spring ball schedule has us getting up at 6 am Monday through Friday. We practice at 7 am on Tuesday and Thursday and we have meetings every other morning. It is easy to fall behind on sleep. However, I like the morning practices better than the afternoon. It's nice to wake up, put your work in, and then be able to take it easy for the rest of the day.
Another practice tomorrow morning, a lift, and then two tests Wednesday and I'm free to go home- first time since Christmas. It'll be nice to have nothing to do for a few days.
