Will the "boot camp" practices work?

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ruppertflywheel

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:banghead:Anybody remember what happened to former Viking coach Les Steckel when he implemented that
philosophy at pre-camp? I believe they won one game that year. If Coach Kill parallels Lester it may take 3 of his own recruiting classes to get the program back on its feet. Steckel didn't have that option. It will be a very interesting spring. Hut 1,2,3,4 sound off, SOUND OFF, sound off 1,2,3,4....SOUND OFF !!
 

Most coaches come in and lay the hammer down their first camp then tone it back as time goes on but I see this being different. This is the standard Kill has used at all his stops for every practice he has coached.
 

Or for a more recent and appropriate comparison ... it worked at N. Illinois and S. Illinois.
 

ruppertflywheel said:
:banghead:Anybody remember what happened to former Viking coach Les Steckel when he implemented that
philosophy at pre-camp? I believe they won one game that year. If Coach Kill parallels Lester it may take 3 of his own recruiting classes to get the program back on its feet. Steckel didn't have that option. It will be a very interesting spring. Hut 1,2,3,4 sound off, SOUND OFF, sound off 1,2,3,4....SOUND OFF !!
Click to expand...


Having been through many practices run by many different coaches, I can tell you that one practice is not appreciably different from the next. Kids are worked hard. The difference is really in the message.

The biggest question: How hard do the kids want to work themselves?

If a coaching staff develops a program wherein the players want to work hard, then everything will be more productive. Kill did that at NIU, which is why they were able to improve so much and beat BCS schools.

The drills won't necessarily be harder - hell, pop warner teams run the same drills - it will be how the players approach them. Don't expect it to be a boot camp, just a high set of expectations for effort and a lot of good coaching to go along with it.

The NFL culture and college culture are significantly different.
 

It's not a "boot camp", it's probably going to be more like a hard conditioning session with actual football inserted into it.
It's worked for the staff before, I'd imagine it will work again.

I mentioned in another thread Syracuse when Marrone took over as coach had an extremely difficult and stressful spring, summer, and fall, many players left, many got dinged, their best player left midseason, they had depth issues for a year, but they are coming off of an 8-5 year with a bowl win in year 2. I always thought syracuse was as close to our situation as any other school, they turned it around by expecting more from their players and taking their medicine early.
 


"This ain't no party, this ain't no Disco, this ain't no foolin' around" Devo

They should pipe that in to practice.
 

If the players see results they will follow Kill into the Rose Bowl. ;)
 





Comes down to Heart, Discipline, and that will develope self pride. If there is no heart, then the other 2 won't happen.
 

ruppertflywheel said:
:banghead:Anybody remember what happened to former Viking coach Les Steckel when he implemented that
philosophy at pre-camp? I believe they won one game that year. If Coach Kill parallels Lester it may take 3 of his own recruiting classes to get the program back on its feet. Steckel didn't have that option. It will be a very interesting spring. Hut 1,2,3,4 sound off, SOUND OFF, sound off 1,2,3,4....SOUND OFF !!
Click to expand...

Difference between day 1 ironman testing sessions and disciplinarian of professional athletes and what Kill is talking about...he is referring to tempo with just about everything he says...workout tempo to build explosion/recovery ability and practice tempo to go full out till the whistle and not stand around a lot.

Ive seen first hand the difference...in high school football our practices always seemed low tempo and then at the end of practice we would run a bunch for conditioning. My hockey practices were completely different...there the drills were the conditioning because practice drills were run at full speed and in the 1 min max, 2 min rest that hockey is played at. Football is the same way, you explode for 10 seconds and then rest for 15-20...so if you practice with this type of tempo you build your body without running hundred yard dashes (which as a Off Tackle...I always thought was dumb..when did I ever run a 100 yard dash in a game...or a mile straight).
 

Doh, I stand corrected.

Well then..."Whip it (Gophers football) real good".

"Excuse me, I just switched to Sanka"....anyone for trivia points, from what movie?
 




Pro versus College is quite different. Most pros are in shape because they want that NFL paycheck and take a professional attitude towards being prepared to play. The pros who are not in shape are usually the guys who are so talented that making the team is never a question for them, and they are not going to be motivated by a screamer and a boot camp leader like Steckel. College kids are not that mature/professional and are used to taking orders from parents, teachers, coaches, etc.

Also, I believe there were several quotes coming out of Brewsters first camp about how much harder the guys were pushed physically than they were under Mason. I think the other posters are correct when they state that it's pretty much standard procedure for any coach to come in and shock the players that first camp.
 

Holtz didn't make it in the pro's either, probably for similar reasons.
 

The boot camp analogies are fine, but real boot camps are a little slower paced than this, but about 14 hours long every day for 8 weeks. (Seems like two years when you are 18). This is not that tough, unless you have never been pushed at all.
 

Triple D said:
Doh, I stand corrected.

Well then..."Whip it (Gophers football) real good".

"Excuse me, I just switched to Sanka"....anyone for trivia points, from what movie?
Click to expand...

"Better off Dead" with John Cusak..."I want my tw dollars!!!!!"
 

This is mental more than physical. Makes all the difference come game time. This is why Kill has been a winner everywhere he goes. It will take some time for Minnesotans to get used to winning attitudes.
 

diehard said:
This is mental more than physical. Makes all the difference come game time. This is why Kill has been a winner everywhere he goes. It will take some time for Minnesotans to get used to winning attitudes.
Click to expand...

Especially to some of the posters on GopherHole who are afraid that Kill "might be working the boys too hard and embarrass them in public". :banghead:

All that matters is...Kill is THE BOSS! Those players that can't or won't buy in to make the University of Minnesota Football Team a Team to be feared can hit the god damned road and go play at Iowa State or Auburn.
 

Dr.Don said:
Especially to some of the posters on GopherHole who are afraid that Kill "might be working the boys too hard and embarrass them in public". :banghead:

All that matters is...Kill is THE BOSS! Those players that can't or won't buy in to make the University of Minnesota Football Team a Team to be feared can hit the god damned road and go play at Iowa State or Auburn.
Click to expand...

Mike Grimm: "After one quarter, it's Kill 100, Pseudo-Gopher Fan-Whinning-Enabling Pu$$ifiers 0."
Darrell Thompson: "Yes, Mike, it's time for those pu$$ies to go home and stay home."
Mike Grimm: "Well said, Darrell. We'll be right back."
 

Bootcamp?

Forgive me, but when I went through boot camp, I never had a drill sergeant run up to me, tell I did a good job and slap me on the ass. Nor in my 11 years on active duty did I see anything resembling the footage of Gopher football practice.

Watching Coach Kill and his staff makes me wonder what these previous Gopher coaches did? When Kill is showing one of our players that blocking drill in which they immediately get up and find someone else to hit...he seems to a be a really hands on guy.

Will we win a Big Ten Title and go to a Rose Bowl soon? Probably not. But we'll surely be competitive against tOSU's, Nebraska's, and Wisconsin's. That will be a welcome sight. Having witnessed firsthand a 58-7 drubbing by Michigan back in the day, and surviving the Brewster era, competitive football will be fun to watch again.

But boot camp?
 

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