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ike clockwork, Andersen has gone
about reconfiguring the daily schedule
for his players this spring by conditioning them to a different routine that is
predicated on freeing up their evenings
(i.e. post-practice hours) by putting them on the
clock, so to speak, early in the morning.
"I was skeptical at first,'' said senior defensive
tackle Ethan Hemer. "But I like it a lot, I do.''
For starters, Andersen assembled players for
team meetings at 6:30 or 7 a.m. "I felt when we
started doing that at Utah State (last year), we had
to create a morning atmosphere for the kids, then
they fell in love with it,'' he said. "Here the kids
wrapped their arms around that right out of the
gate.''
Take it from linebacker senior Chris Borland,
there was an adjustment period ― "Initially the
guys were maybe a little groggy, but you learn and
adjust quickly,'' he said ― before everybody began
to understand "coach's philosophy on it'' and the
benefits behind some of the changes.
"Last year, you got used
to being at the stadium for
hours and hours,'' Hemer said.
"Now ... you don't feel like
your day is school and football and there's not really a
break for anything else.''
Making sure to accommodate class schedules,
Andersen felt "meeting for about an hour in the
morning a couple of days a week'' might also develop good habits and serve as the equivalent of a
wake-up call if warranted. "After we've met, I know
they're up and on their way to class,'' he said.
It doesn't hurt nutritionally, either, to have the
players grab a bagel or some fruit. Andersen is
genuinely conscious of such little things so "I know
they're fueled up when they walk out of here'' and
begin their day on campus.
"Initially the guys were maybe a
little groggy, but you learn and
adjust quickly,'' Borland said of
Andersen's early-morning meetings.
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