Varsity is the free Official Digital Magazine of Wisconsin Athletics, covering Badgers football, basketball, hockey and more each week.
Issue link: http://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/38804
Training camp always a learning experience BEHIND THE DESK BARRY ALVAREZ • UW DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS practices for three days leading up to the start of the preseason training camp when the varsity players reported. W I’m disappointed that they don’t do it anymore. Why? I don’t know. The NCAA was probably concerned with the number of practices. I don’t think anyone ever consulted with the coaches. Looking back on it, I thought it was really a good idea. During those three days, you got to teach the freshmen what was expected of them in practice. You got them up to speed. That first day, you’d always see them feeling their way around. But then they’d start to get more and more comfortable with everything. The biggest thing was that the freshmen were with freshmen and adjusting to all of the same things together. Then the varsity would show up and they’d take a step back. Most were a little intimidated be- cause things would move so fast. But they’d gradually work into the tempo; and you could start seeing guys who were ready to step in and contribute on Satur- days. You could see who could play, and who couldn’t. We had a period during prac- hen I was coaching in the mid-to-late ‘90s, we had freshmen-only tice where the graduate assis- tants would work with all of the freshmen at one end of the field. They’d be getting the same reps as the varsity but at a slower pace. I can remember after we split up one day that I kept noticing one freshman at the other end. I told our secondary coach, “Hey, go down there and get that little guy up here with the two-deep.” He said, “What do you mean?” I said, “Are you watching the same practice I’m watching? That little guy is getting his hands on the football every time it’s thrown. He’s always around the ball and either tipping it or pick- ing it off.” You could tell he knew what he was doing; he moved well and he could run. It didn’t matter to me if he was a freshman; it didn’t matter to me that he was a walk- on. Jimmy Leonhard could play. When Ron Dayne showed up as a freshman, it was the same thing. Everyone knew it was just a matter of time. I remember my assistant, Brian White, saying, “He’s going to be a great one.” Lee DeRamus had the same impact in his first camp. We didn’t have anyone like him on our team. He was a big receiver who could run like a deer. He was tough, physical and he could go all day. Some guys just jumped out at you. You can find out some things about your players that first week. But it’s too early to tell anything about your team chemistry. There’s no chemistry until you have adversity. When guys are tired, let’s see how they pick it up. Let’s see how they rally during the dog days of a training camp. Everyone has a bounce in their step the first couple of days. Over the years, the rules have changed on how and how much you can practice leading up to your season opener. You can’t have consecutive two-a-days anymore. We once had three-a-days when we were training at Holy Name Seminary. The middle practice was more like a walk- through with some teaching and a little work on special teams. One of my captains, Chris Mc- Intosh, came up to me and said, “Coach, you’re wearing us out.” Enough said. I respected his opinion. He knew what was good and what wasn’t good and he had enough confidence to tell me. When a strong captain came up with a suggestion, I was going to do it 100 percent of the time. That was the end of our three- a-days.