It was another early day because I had to run our morning conditioning session.  I am learning very quickly coaches do not get a lot of sleep during camp and spending time at home is almost nonexistent.  Even though I have had to sacrifice sleep for the past five days, I would not trade this experience for anything.  I have put myself in position to do what I have always dreamed of doing, and that is coach college football.  I still think to myself, "Wow, I am coaching college football.  I did it".  I also remind myself that getting here was the easy part.  I need to continue to grow as a coach and build upon my knowledge of the entire game and also the logistics of college football.  With this mentorship, I believe I have built a solid foundation to
 
Once again, another day in the books at camp.  The freshman are picking up the schemes and techniques and playing faster each day.  At times, they get overwhelmed and forget their assignments but those mistakes are easily correctable. 
    I am learning more about football every single day and I am learning how to be a better coach.  I am running my own drills and becoming more vocal on the field to correct mistakes.  At first, I was hesitant to speak up because I was afraid of telling the player the wrong thing.  The more knowledge I learn about our defensive scheme, the more comfortable I am with coaching up a play
 
    Well, I thought the first few days of camp were long but they don't compare to today.  I had to wake up at 4:45 am, after going to bed around 12:30 am, to make it to the school for morning conditioning at 6:00 am.  After conditioning was over, I was in charge of breakfast check-in.  
    After breakfast, we had position meetings and  then freshmen practice.  They continue to progress each day and the entire coaching staff can tell they are picking up our schemes and playing with more speed and confidence.  When practice was over, it was off to lunch and then more position meetings.  
    The upper classmen practice was very competitive and the momentum seemed to swing from one side of the ball to the other throughout our scripted scrimmages.  I really enjoyed running my own station during our special teams session and our individual session.  It gives me time to get to know players' names and coach players individually.  
    We had another position meeting after dinner and a team meeting after that was over.  Then, once again, we met with the outside linebackers to review run fits and keys.  Finally, at about 10:30 pm, I was able to go home where I had to blog and work on some homework.  If there is one thing I have learned today, it is energy drinks can only take you so far and give you so much "energy".
 
    Another day of camp in the books.  Today's schedule was very similar to yesterday's only we didn't have a run test.  The tempo of both practices were better than yesterday and you could tell the freshmen were feeling more confident in what they were doing.  The upper classmen's practice got a little heated between players, at times, but it is good to see that fire in a player.  
    During our position film session, we experienced a technical problem with Hudl and had to cut the night short.  It is nice to get the guys a little extra time to relax and recuperate early in practice so their legs stay fresh for the duration of camp.  
    For me, it is a daily struggle to continue to learn the names of all the players but slowly and surely I am learning more names each day.  I also have to remind myself during practice to be energetic and coach with enthusiasm.  Players feed off the enthusiasm of a coach and it is especially important during camp when players are tired and sore.  I think the players have done a good job so far practicing with the intensity level the coaches expect.  Because camp is shorter this year, we have to make sure it is challenging and we get the players prepared for the rest of the season.    
 
    On to day two of camp.  After breakfast, we had a quick team meeting and then freshmen had to do their run test.  For most of them, it was a wake up call and a welcome to college football.  After the run test, players were able to rest up for a little bit and then they had their first practice.  The practice seemed like it took forever because coaches had to stop after every play to coach a player and teach them the proper technique.  After practice, the players had some down time until lunch and coaches reviewed film from the freshmen practice.  
    After lunch, we had a team meeting concerning social media that was very informative and should help our team stay out of any trouble when using any of the social media sites.  
    The upper classmen had their run test in the afternoon and did a fairly good job.  After they were able to rest, we went right into practice.  This time, practice flew by and the tempo was much better.  It was nice to be able to coach guys that knew what they were doing and only had to be told once what was needed to correct the problem.  
    We then had dinner and then position meetings after.  We reviewed film with the players and installed a couple more parts of our defense.  After position meetings, it was off to another team meeting where we discussed the schedule for tomorrow and Coach Land talked about himself and one of the seniors talked to the team.  We had one more position meeting to watch more film and then players were dismissed for the night.  
    In the past 48 hours, I have realized time management is going to be very crucial if I am going to juggle work, football, and school.  I am also going to have to adapt to only getting a few hours of sleep each night due to being so busy.  In order to stay motivated, I just have to remember that this is what I have been working hard for and in the end all the hard work will pay off.
 
    After all the work this summer, I can actually say camp is finally here.  We started our day at 9:00 am to make sure all the paperwork was ready for the players when they checked-in and passed out their team gear orders.  I also helped any coach finish up any paperwork for their player packets and set up computers for meetings.  
    Once the players were done filling out their paperwork, each class was let into the locker room to make sure they had all their equipment and got their camp issued t-shirts and shorts.  We started with the Senior from 1:00 - 1:30, Juniors from 1:30 - 2:00, Sophomores from 2:00 - 3:00, and freshmen from 3:00 - 4:00, and 4:00 - 5:00.  After we were done in the locker room, it was off to our first team dinner. 
    After dinner, we had our first team meeting and Coach Land introduced the coaches to the players and went over some guidelines for camp.  We then split up into offensive and defensive meetings.  During the defensive meeting, each coach had to introduce themselves and talk a little about their background.  Our defensive coordinator, Coach Abbs, gave a presentation about our defense and what expectations are in place for all defensive players.  
    When the team defense meeting was over, we split up and went to position meetings.  At these meeting, we installed some of our basic defensive coverages and watched film from last year to show the new guys what everything should look like.  By the time our meeting was over, it was after 11:00 and everyone was tired.  I forgot after four years of being out of college football how tiring camp is, but I was quickly reminded on day one.
 
    On May 9th, I worked the NCAA Women's Softball Tournament held at Trine University.  The first game, I was responsible for shagging foul balls and returning them to the game in a timely manner.  It was fun to watch the game but, after a few innings of running back and forth from right field all the way over to left field,  I was ready to do something else.  
    My next task was to operate the concession stand which I really enjoyed.  It was a lot of fun interacting with parents and fans from other schools and giving them advice where to eat around the town.  After a few hours of working the concession stand, I was given another new task.
     This time, I had the job of making sure each team had everything they needed before the game and guided them to the "cooling zone" after the game.  This job wasn't as fun as working the concession stand because the interactions were very minimal.  
    Unfortunately, the Trine softball team lost their first game and had to play through the losers' bracket for the rest of the tournament.  They were able to win two games in the tournament but ending up losing their second game and were eliminated from tournament. 
    Overall, working the tournament was a lot of fun and it was good to see what happens behind the scenes for a NCAA sanctioned event to take place.  There are a lot of guidelines the host school must follow that are different from a regular season game.  For instance, Trine has a contract with Pepsi so all products sold in the concession stand were Pepsi products.  However, the NCAA is sponsored by Coca-Cola, so all products given to the players were Coke products and they couldn't drink any of the Pepsi products.   
 
    Today was another very busy day as the coaching staff continued to prepare for the start of camp on Saturday.  In the morning, I helped the defensive coordinator set up position drills for the defense and also the schedule for installing the defense.  During camp, it is very important to make sure the drills that are being run during practice coincide with the defense that is being installed that day.  It is important because you want the players to get as many repetitions as possible so that they remember their responsibilities and can play as fast as possible.  
    In the afternoon, we finished passing out player equipment and shifting some players into open lockers due to some players not playing this year.  Getting 172 players into a locker and making sure they have all the equipment necessary to practice is hard enough but, to have a few guys quit before the season starts, then go back through and rearrange lockers just makes things more difficult.   As I have said several times throughout my mentorship, being the equipment manager is a much harder job than it looks.  
    We also said goodbye to an assistant coach, due to a family emergency, who has been with the program for 5 years.  Sergeant Major Aldrich has been an inspiration to every player that has played for Trine since he became involved with the team in 2008 and his presence on the coaching staff will be missed.
 
Wow, what a busy day.  As soon as I walked into the office this morning, the video coordinator had a job for me.  I had to record the student assistant demonstrating the offensive no-huddle signals and then download the tape on the computer.  As soon as I was done with that, I had to help finish putting shoulder pads into lockers.  When I finished that, the associate A.D. came over to the football office and asked if I could change all the dates, for the fall sports, in the sports packets.  Although it was a little time consuming, it was fun to do something for the athletic department and become more involved.  When I was about to finish up the sports packets, Coach Land asked if I could go over to the Hall of Fame and write down every person's name, the sport they played, the year they graduated, and the year they were inducted into the Hall of Fame.  After I was done writing down all the information, I had to put all the information into a spreadsheet.  By the time I was finished with the Hall of Fame project, I was the last person left in the office.  I truly enjoy being around sports and having multiple projects each day because it allows me to demonstrate my abilities and my passion for sports. 
 
    I was asked today to go through our spring practices on Hudl, and find special teams drills to use for an instructional video.  I had to go through each practice session and create a playlist of any special team drill or rep.  Once I had all the drills saved to one playlist, I then had to decide which plays would be the best for the video.  Being able to work on a project like this helps expand my knowledge of the Hudl video system and allows me to work on some of the behind the scenes aspects of a football program. 
    In the afternoon, I started putting the correct size shoulder pads in the lockers for the incoming freshman.  Working with the assistant coach responsible for equipment this summer has opened my eyes into how much time is spent dealing with equipment.  It has also been another opportunity to see what goes in to being a successful football program.  By having all the equipment ready for the players when they show up August 10th, the team will be able to focus more on football and not have to spend wasted time dealing with the equipment.  
    I also met briefly with the assistant coach/ video coordinator to develop a plan for filming during camp.  It is very critical to streamline and minimize the time taken between practices to copy the film and use it as a teaching tool before the next practice.  I believe we have come up with a system that will make copying film easier for the