FanPost

Spring Practice first day observations

I couldn't wait for class to be over today so I could get over to Spaulding Field to watch the all-star coaching team dish out their first practice.  Even though practices in the beginning can be boring, what with the stretches and basic running drills, just to see Coach Neu and Chow on the field was very exciting.  

I got there right at the beginning when the intense strength and conditioning coach Mike Linn was blowing the whistle while the whole team did stretches.  Man was it exciting to step on the turf field and take in the sight of your new football team.  

I stayed basically the whole practice, watching from the highest bleachers to get a good view.  From what I observed, the practice schedule is one huge buildup.  After the full team stretch, the assistant coaches move in and everyone breaks off into their small groups to work on basic maneuvers.  I of course shimmied over to catch a better glimpse of Chow (and Neu) working the 5 QBs.  Every 20 minutes or so, a huge blare would come from a horn (sounds like the horn at basketball games), and most of the time this was an indication for the offense/defense groups to switch around.  Now perhaps the DL line matches against the OL line.  QB's and RB's work together on handoffs. Etc.  Later you might see the QB's and WR/RB work together on offense only plays.

This is all basically a big buildup to the full on offense vs defense workout at the end of practice.   One cool thing about the open practice is that you are not restricted to the bleachers at one end of the field.  You can actually walk around the 3 sides of the field, which I did so at the end to get a very close side view of everyone practicing together.  What's cool is that I got to stand next to Wayne Cook while he and I were observing the plays.

Other few tidbits I noticed.  Of the big three, D. Walker gets the most into interacting with the players and full on in your face coaching.  I believe he worked with the secondary the most (makes sense).  After Walker on the interaction/intensity scale is Chow.  With his focus only on the 5 standout, black-shirted QBs, he only had to talk to them naturally; no yelling and in-your-face coaching was needed when not dealing with a whole rough-and-tumble group like the OL line or the secondary.  

And of course, PR Rep. Neuheisel goes around the whole field doing different things.  You see him standing at one end of the field talking to one of the assistant coaches, you look away for a second, and then Neu is suddenly at the other end of the field shaking hands with high school recruits and having a laugh.  He is the head coach, but he looked more like the CEO at the time.  It's all about division of labor and specialization on the field, and with the great coaching staff this man has assembled, he can do what needs to be done on the field to get everyone around him excited for BRUINS FOOTBALL.

Last observation only a few might have noticed.  You remember Eric Scott?  The guy we thought was "fired?"  Well he seemed to have an on-field assistant role.  Not coaching.  But he was all around doing random stuff.  Including directly handing out flyers with the spring roster on it to everyone already seated in the bleachers.  From WR coach/recruiting coordinator to practice hand?  Well he seems like a nice guy, so you be the judge when you get here.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

Trending Discussions