The players of the Okanagan Sun football team have hard work ahead of them as training camp picks up to full steam.
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Head coach Peter McCall said the team went through standardized testing Monday night and on to training for full days Tuesday to Friday. The week finishes off with an exhibition scrimmage on Saturday afternoon.
McCall said players go through a standard set of tests, done on football players from the Sun level all the way up to the NFL. Players perform a 40-yard dash, a vertical jump, bench press, agility test and a standing broad jump.
“It’s a pretty good indicator who’s been training during the off season.”
He noted coaching staff have seen a lot of the players run before, but there is still some gauging that goes on. For both veterans and new players, there is the hope that test times will improve on the previous year.
During the week, McCall throws the players into a day that includes game warmups, individual work, one-on-one player training, conditioning and a team session. The training itself is a standard affair, as the Sun prepares its players to execute strategies during the season.
With three weeks to the first regular season game, McCall said the training gives the coaching staff a chance to get the players up to speed on all their systems. Players only receive a couple of days off during the three weeks of intensive preparation.
There is a lot of information to absorb. McCall said knowing the strategies is not the only result he needs to see from the training camp.
“You want to see them gelling, you want to see execution.”
McCall noted that the Sun has a number of players that work together locally in the off season, but many as well that come from out of town. As the team gels, they should be able to execute plays on the fly with proper timing.
“There’s so much strategy in football, so much timing.”
Preparation and a focus on the basics are core to McCall’s philosophy.
“I’m a fundamentalist to the bone… that’s what we’ll be doing.”
Last year was a learning experience for the head coach as well, as he got to know the Sun coaching staff and other members of the organization on the fly. He noted that he now is more familiar with the close to 70 people in the organization.
“Seventy guys is a lot of guys to get to know and motivate on a personal level.”
McCall said he has had the chance to be involved in recruiting and is excited to be able to lead by example.
By Mike Simmons – Kelowna Capital News
Published: July 05, 2010 4:00 PM
Updated: July 05, 2010 4:27 PM
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