P-O conditioning week article...good read!
P-O conditioning week article...good read!
Please read to the bottom and see the comments.
One Philipsburg-Osceola football player might have trouble sleeping tonight knowing what awaits Wednesday and Thursday.
Philipsburg-Osceola football coach Jeff Vroman is hoping to build team morale by inviting Army members to the Mounties’ preseason conditioning sessions.
“I’m not going to be looking forward to it,” senior Kurtis Walker said. “You don’t go to bed too happy.”
Another Mountie claims he will get ample rest.
“I will sleep well because I know they will put me through a good workout and they will help our team get teamwork and unity,” senior Keith Smolko said.
At P-O, the week before the start of two-a-days means a group of special and demanding visitors.
For the second straight year, coach Jeff Vroman has invited members of local Army recruiting stations to his team’s preseason conditioning sessions. Vroman said the changes he has witnessed in his 20 years of coaching led to him altering his program’s heat week.
From Vroman’s perspective, teams have grown farther apart through the years and players are quitting midseason. Individualistic behavior and quitting are practices the Army doesn’t tolerate.
“Not only are we working on conditioning, we’re working on team building,” Vroman said. “How are they going to react in an adverse situation? If things don’t go well in a football game, what are they going to do, bag it like these kids do today on these X-Boxes? They hit restart instead of finishing the game. Right now, that’s what I’m seeing in society.”
If this year’s conditioning resemble last year’s, some players might not have the energy to play video games Wednesday or Thursday night.
With morning temperatures approaching 90 degrees, the 2009 Mounties went multiple preseason workouts they will never forget. Players spent two hours hauling cinder blocks around the arid grass. They lifted blocks above their heads countless times. They clutched blocks as they sprinted up and down the field.
The workouts were designed to get the Mounties working as one. Fatigued seeped in throughout the sessions. Exercises weren’t completed until everybody finished. The officers in charge encouraged the strong and fast to push the exhausted and slow.
“You couldn’t be done with it until everybody was done,” Smolko said.
Waking up and seeing the Army on the practice field wasn’t a complete surprise. Walker said Vroman warned players two weeks in advance that heat week was going to be different. But little could prepare players for the Army’s workouts.
“It’s much tougher than a football workout,” said Walker, who emerged as one of the area’s best defensive lineman last year. “I lift and run everyday. I thought I was doing good exercises, but the Army does a whole different thing. Their exercises make a football workout look like nothing.”
Walker said experiencing the workouts further enhanced his respect for the Army.
“It’s crazy,” he said. “The training they do and what they put themselves through, mentally and physically, makes you really thank God for what they do for us.”
Vroman is aware that Army-like workouts have the potential to turn some players away before two-a-days begin. But he said teenagers who quit during heat week are unlikely to make it through an entire season.
The Mounties went 3-7 last year, missing the playoffs for a second straight season. Vroman quickly recites the reasons for P-O’s struggles — shoddy tackling, injuries, too many big plays at the end of the first half, a 1-3 start and 0-4 finish. Missing from that list are poor conditioning, lack of toughness or dissension.
“The preseason really kept us together,” Smolko said. “There was no arguing on the field. If anybody screwed up, we just shrugged if off and kept going.”
Local recruiters proved receptive when Vroman approached them about returning this week. High school football is a major recruiting ground, locally and nationally, for the Army, which sponsors the prestigious U.S. Army All-American Bowl, a postseason all-star game featuring some of the nation’s top players.
It’s not uncommon for former P-O players to enlist. Matt Randolph, who developed into a team leader and key part of last fall’s offensive line, joined the Army after graduating in June.
“They are looking at it like some of their best recruits are coming from the game of football,” Vroman said. “The general high school population anymore is out of shape and the Army can’t pluck from it anymore. It can be a win-win. Maybe they will get some kids from us. Maybe they will help us win some more games.”
Read more: http://www.centredaily.com/2010/08/10/2 ... z0wE8TYVU7
jetski9 wrote on 08/10/2010 01:10:39 PM:
Too bad he has driven away alot of good young talent fromt he junior hight up thru away over the years, and a lot this year! Time for a change in the PO football program................
Read more: http://www.centredaily.com/2010/08/10/2 ... z0wE8sKM49
Watcher wrote on 08/10/2010 07:57:18 AM:
It sounds like everyone involved in this has taken leave of their senses. Where is the school board? Where is the oversight? But, it is the same board that approved the quarter of a million dollar upgrade to the stadium lights several months ago.
Read more: http://www.centredaily.com/2010/08/10/2 ... z0wE931tsa
My take:
See why things are the way they are...These are probably parents and the exact kind of people that Vroman is describing. Afraid of a little hard work? Afraid to be yelled at and pushed beyond your own expectations of yourself?
Some of the other comments were more positive. I think this is a great idea. Vroman may scream and yell, but I think he is one heck of a coach. Too bad society is changing so much that he is often looked at in a negative light. He isn't ok with people doing things 50%. He isn't ok with people doing things wrong. He isn't ok with poor attitudes and people talking back. Think about your boss. He's probably like that (or should be). Why isn't it ok for people to start meeting expectations? Football is a great teacher of life...if you've played the game you'd understand. If not...I don't expect you to get it.
One Philipsburg-Osceola football player might have trouble sleeping tonight knowing what awaits Wednesday and Thursday.
Philipsburg-Osceola football coach Jeff Vroman is hoping to build team morale by inviting Army members to the Mounties’ preseason conditioning sessions.
“I’m not going to be looking forward to it,” senior Kurtis Walker said. “You don’t go to bed too happy.”
Another Mountie claims he will get ample rest.
“I will sleep well because I know they will put me through a good workout and they will help our team get teamwork and unity,” senior Keith Smolko said.
At P-O, the week before the start of two-a-days means a group of special and demanding visitors.
For the second straight year, coach Jeff Vroman has invited members of local Army recruiting stations to his team’s preseason conditioning sessions. Vroman said the changes he has witnessed in his 20 years of coaching led to him altering his program’s heat week.
From Vroman’s perspective, teams have grown farther apart through the years and players are quitting midseason. Individualistic behavior and quitting are practices the Army doesn’t tolerate.
“Not only are we working on conditioning, we’re working on team building,” Vroman said. “How are they going to react in an adverse situation? If things don’t go well in a football game, what are they going to do, bag it like these kids do today on these X-Boxes? They hit restart instead of finishing the game. Right now, that’s what I’m seeing in society.”
If this year’s conditioning resemble last year’s, some players might not have the energy to play video games Wednesday or Thursday night.
With morning temperatures approaching 90 degrees, the 2009 Mounties went multiple preseason workouts they will never forget. Players spent two hours hauling cinder blocks around the arid grass. They lifted blocks above their heads countless times. They clutched blocks as they sprinted up and down the field.
The workouts were designed to get the Mounties working as one. Fatigued seeped in throughout the sessions. Exercises weren’t completed until everybody finished. The officers in charge encouraged the strong and fast to push the exhausted and slow.
“You couldn’t be done with it until everybody was done,” Smolko said.
Waking up and seeing the Army on the practice field wasn’t a complete surprise. Walker said Vroman warned players two weeks in advance that heat week was going to be different. But little could prepare players for the Army’s workouts.
“It’s much tougher than a football workout,” said Walker, who emerged as one of the area’s best defensive lineman last year. “I lift and run everyday. I thought I was doing good exercises, but the Army does a whole different thing. Their exercises make a football workout look like nothing.”
Walker said experiencing the workouts further enhanced his respect for the Army.
“It’s crazy,” he said. “The training they do and what they put themselves through, mentally and physically, makes you really thank God for what they do for us.”
Vroman is aware that Army-like workouts have the potential to turn some players away before two-a-days begin. But he said teenagers who quit during heat week are unlikely to make it through an entire season.
The Mounties went 3-7 last year, missing the playoffs for a second straight season. Vroman quickly recites the reasons for P-O’s struggles — shoddy tackling, injuries, too many big plays at the end of the first half, a 1-3 start and 0-4 finish. Missing from that list are poor conditioning, lack of toughness or dissension.
“The preseason really kept us together,” Smolko said. “There was no arguing on the field. If anybody screwed up, we just shrugged if off and kept going.”
Local recruiters proved receptive when Vroman approached them about returning this week. High school football is a major recruiting ground, locally and nationally, for the Army, which sponsors the prestigious U.S. Army All-American Bowl, a postseason all-star game featuring some of the nation’s top players.
It’s not uncommon for former P-O players to enlist. Matt Randolph, who developed into a team leader and key part of last fall’s offensive line, joined the Army after graduating in June.
“They are looking at it like some of their best recruits are coming from the game of football,” Vroman said. “The general high school population anymore is out of shape and the Army can’t pluck from it anymore. It can be a win-win. Maybe they will get some kids from us. Maybe they will help us win some more games.”
Read more: http://www.centredaily.com/2010/08/10/2 ... z0wE8TYVU7
jetski9 wrote on 08/10/2010 01:10:39 PM:
Too bad he has driven away alot of good young talent fromt he junior hight up thru away over the years, and a lot this year! Time for a change in the PO football program................
Read more: http://www.centredaily.com/2010/08/10/2 ... z0wE8sKM49
Watcher wrote on 08/10/2010 07:57:18 AM:
It sounds like everyone involved in this has taken leave of their senses. Where is the school board? Where is the oversight? But, it is the same board that approved the quarter of a million dollar upgrade to the stadium lights several months ago.
Read more: http://www.centredaily.com/2010/08/10/2 ... z0wE931tsa
My take:
See why things are the way they are...These are probably parents and the exact kind of people that Vroman is describing. Afraid of a little hard work? Afraid to be yelled at and pushed beyond your own expectations of yourself?
Some of the other comments were more positive. I think this is a great idea. Vroman may scream and yell, but I think he is one heck of a coach. Too bad society is changing so much that he is often looked at in a negative light. He isn't ok with people doing things 50%. He isn't ok with people doing things wrong. He isn't ok with poor attitudes and people talking back. Think about your boss. He's probably like that (or should be). Why isn't it ok for people to start meeting expectations? Football is a great teacher of life...if you've played the game you'd understand. If not...I don't expect you to get it.
Make sure you Like BleacherCoaches.com on Facebook! Make it easier for us to reach you!!!!
http://www.facebook.com/bleachercoaches
http://www.facebook.com/bleachercoaches