That First Week Of Football Camp

Across the National Football League this week, and in the next few weeks college and high school football teams will be starting their camps to get ready for the upcoming season.

Yes, there's nothing like getting in full pads for the first time in months and practicing in the hot, summer sun.

Whether you are a pro, or just a teenager playing high school football, camp is probably the one thing you wish you could skip on the calendar. It's necessary, but it takes a physical toll on the body and mind for two or three weeks (depending at what level you're playing at).

It's been seven years (which is hard to believe) since my last high school football camp. I grew up in southwestern Butler County and attended Seneca Valley. Playing football, next to time in the Kappa Sigma Fraternity in college, has been one of the greatest impacts on my life up until now. But those two weeks of camp was always my least favorite part of the schedule. 

First off, the one benefit my group had was the decision to stay at the high school for camp. In the past, most teams would pack up and go to a small college an hour or so away from the school district. Seneca Valley would go to Slippery Rock. Hearing stories from older guys my sophomore year, we were thankful to be staying local. At least you could sleep in your own bed after feeling like you were hit by a truck.

Those last few days before camp, you come to realize that your summer is over. I remember getting into bed many hours earlier than I did during most nights in the summer, knowing what tomorrow would bring and dreading it until I finally fell asleep.

Everybody does their schedule differently. There are some coaches that love to get their team out on the field just as the sun is coming up. I remember reading an article in a Pittsburgh newspaper about one team that did just that.

We did it another way.

We were expected to report to the field house by 9am. From that point until around 11:30am, there were team and position meetings and after we finally had practiced, watched film of team offense and defense as well and do some lifting. You would lift all winter to bulk up, but after the first few practices, you were groaning as you went into the weight room on some mornings.

My least favorite part of day one is putting all the pads on for the first time.

During the summer months leading up to camp, you are permitted to wear helmets with no contact during summer workouts, which is smart since you want to get used to that extra weight on your head. About a week leading up to camp, you walk into the equipment room and grab all your other stuff. It's better if you are an upperclassman with the whole "first come, first serve" rule. The best helmet I ever had came when I was a senior.

So. getting back to camp, putting on the shoulder pads, and pants for the first time always has an awkward, uncomfortable feeling at first. You get used to the weight of the equipment after a while, but it's not great on the first day. Some practices during camp were just "helmets and shoulder pad" practices. Hearing that provided a bright side as you could hardly get out of bed that morning.

My coach had a philosophy when it came to practice times. It was better to have us awake and alert at noon for the first practice than going out at the crack of dawn. For those who took Astronomy in high school or college, the sun is at its highest at noon, and it's a lot hotter in early August. I think he may have mentioned that, too.

It's high noon, full pads and warm-ups and stretching are through. Time to get those shoulder pads popping. Oklahoma drill time!

If you don't know what an Oklahoma drill is, you get into a three-point stance, helmet-to-helmet with another guy across from you. One is on the offensive side of the ball, the other on the defensive side. On the coaches count, you fire off the ball and try to win the battle at the line. There's also pressure on you since half the team forms a semi circle, sometimes picking sides just for fun. You knew what it was like to be a rooster in a cockfight.

So after the Oklahoma drill, your body received its first physical blows since you last played in a game.

I won't bore you with every detail of the first week's schedule, but it kind of looked like this.

First and third practices were normal 2-2.5 hour practices, one offensive specific, the other defensive. The middle practice was shorter. Mainly an hour-long special teams practice with just helmets that also included conditioning, and if we weren't up to snuff in the other two practices, some running might be included at the end. Either way, you were sore and beat up after the first few days.

As I mentioned, we did not go away for camp. So there was no dorm bed to crash on for an hour or so until the next practice. It was up to you to bring your own pillow and sleeping bag if you wanted to rest. It almost resembled a scene from an overcrowded infirmary during a war movie. The wrestling room was in the field house. The mats offered a soft, cool place to lay down. They may not have been clean, but they were comfortable between meetings and practices.

The greatest satisfaction came on Friday of the first week. That was the midway point of camp, but it was also the sign that you survived the worst. You are bruised in places you never thought you could be bruised and your body is aching, but you did it.

Friday of that first week was the best. The day includes a walk-through to prepare for a Saturday morning scrimmage. It's the old "Thank God I get to hit some guy in another jersey tomorrow!" What followed was our "media day." I am not the biggest fan of getting my picture taken, but in this case, it beats having two more full-padded practices.

You take an individual picture, team picture, headshot for the paper if they want to use it (my ugly mug was in the preview in the Butler Eagle for some reason) and if you were a senior, you're subjected to a few more shots for a promotional schedule that would be in every restaurant in the district. Our senior shoot took place at a random construction site in a housing development. I forget the slogan for the poster, but it had to do with building for the future or something like that.

My high school football experience was very fulfilling. I started on the defensive line my junior and senior year, was a two-time letter winner, and even served as a captain in a few games. As I mentioned earlier, one of the best experiences in my young life. But in a sport that ends on a cold, autumn night, it all begins on a hot, summer day in early August.

There are times when I can't believe almost seven years have passed since I played in a game of football. Anyone who has ever played at the high school level loves the Friday night atmosphere. That one day out of the week is what you work for. Being in western Pennsylvania's top section, the WPIAL, it was important.

You miss Friday nights. You don't miss camp.