last Tuesday the Liberty Falcons set off at 8 am for camp rilea for our yearly football camp. camp rilea is an army base just north of seaside, Oregon, and about three fourths of a mile from the coast.
we arrived, loaded off the bus, and just about died. it was 95 degrees outside. our coaches started yelling directions, and camp was off. after getting unpacked in the barracks we were assigned to, the coaches yelled into our halls 'thirty minutes till practice. shells. don't forgot the water jugs.' we got off easy with the shells, which is not full pads, but just shoulder pads and helmets. going back out into the heat, we had our first practice. things went well, my hamstring felt great, and the team was getting along just nicely.
after our first two hour practice, we headed back into the somewhat cooler barracks (80 degrees) we changed and headed to dinner. with 8 other teams there, including two teams from Canada, and one from Idaho, there was quite the line. after dinner was 7 on 7. that's a scrimmage with just the quarterback and receivers on O, and dbs and linebackers on D.
after 7 on we had a team meeting to do chalk talk and defensive sets. after that the seniors called their own meeting. well, i called a meeting for the seniors. that morning at practice some guys had not been wearing all their required pads, and so had to do running for it. trying to be a leader, i hollered 'seniors, lets go with 'em' as they started their run. all but one of the seniors joined me. during the meeting i thanked everybody for joining me, and shared with them my thoughts on why i did, that the seniors need to be willing to show that their willing to do anything anybody else does. they all agreed. every night after that the seniors had our own meeting before bed to go over the day, discussing anything that went awry that day, and what went well.
our schedule was the next three were as follows- wake up at 7 am. breakfast at 7 15. first practice at 9. lunch at noon. second practice at 1 30. dinner at 5. 7 on 7 at 7 (yes. i typed that right.) and our team meeting at 9. all practices were full pads, two hours long, the second hour being a scrimmage against another team.
my mom might yell at me a little bit for boasting here, but i got some pretty awesome hits on guys from other teams. both on Offense and Defense. LOVE FOOTBALL. where else can you run full speed into somebody, give them a concussion, and be applauded for it? :D
Wednesday night the Falcons headed to the beach for some relaxation. me, hating the beach, walked down in my shoes and socks, and sat on a log while everyone else had fun in the water.
but, it was inevitable, someone said, wheres the Mormon Avenger? and they came for me. all of them. all 34 of them. its a good thing I'm fast, otherwise i would have been in the water, soaking wet and cold and angry. they did manage, however, to get our defensive coordinator in the water. and hes a BIG guy. it took them 45 minutes to get him the 20 yards to the water. that was entertaining to watch.
Thursday night the entire camp headed to the obstacle course on the base for some fun. during that half an hour walk, my knee started hurting. not just an ache, but a sharp pain whenever i bent it. what did i do to it? i have NO idea. its football, people get hurt all the time without knowing it. adrenaline is an amazing thing. but my knee was bugging me so i skipped the obstacle course, and sought out Angie, liberty's athletic trainer. she said something about my quad being twisted, and maybe my knee cap chipped. i didn't want to hear it, and neither did Mahlum, the head coach. he saw me with Angie, and all he had to say was- i don't want to know, just fix it.
so i skipped 7 on 7 that night, and the scrimmage the next morning. after cleaning the barracks for two hours to pass the military grade inspection, we were on our way home.
that was football camp. had a TON of fun. got some hard hits in. made some big plays. and bonded with my brothers. cant wait till September third.
its gonna be good. :)
