Clay Cundall, a fifth-year linebacker from Greybull, Wyoming, will offer his unique perspective of the Chadron State College football team throughout the season.Nov. 20, 2015Well, it’s all come to an end. It’s a strange feeling to be done with football. The season didn’t end the way we would’ve wished, and to be honest, that sucks. Despite that fact, I’ll remember last Saturday for what it really was—the last opportunity to step out onto the field with my buddies to play some ball.
The last five years haven’t been easy. It’s a tough job to play this game at the collegiate level. The hours that a college player puts in through practice, film, meetings and weights is unbelievable. I couldn’t even venture to guess the amount of time it takes.
However, all of that hard work is what makes playing this game so rewarding. I wouldn’t trade my experience as an Eagle for anything.
I have so many memories of friends that I’ve made here, and the hard work we put in together—whether it was sprinting on the track in the PAC at 6 a.m., squatting so hard I thought I was going to pass out, or running equalizers during fall camp at the end of practice. It was all “part of the grind.” The five year grind.
It’s a beautiful thing really, to go through all that with your friends. I can remember feeling like I had nothing left to give during winter conditioning and then I would look to one of my buddies. They were going through the same thing as I was and there was no way I was going to quit on them because they wouldn’t quit on me.
You form a special bond with the guys whom you’ve played with for this long. I wouldn’t have found this type of friendship anywhere else. How else would I have become lifelong friends with guys like Olufemi Aaron from Pasadena, or Dylan Furrier from Tucson, if not through my experience as an Eagle? If I didn’t play for the Eagles, I would’ve never been able to make all the great friendships that I have made these past five years.
It was a blessing, to say the least, to have played this game at the college level. It’s difficult to describe the feeling of finishing your senior season. “Bittersweet,” “rewarding,” and “fulfilling” all come to mind, but none of them accurately describe what me and my senior teammates were feeling after the last game.
And now? I’m officially “washed up,” as we say. I can’t create any new memories of playing in games, practicing, time spent in the locker room, bus trips, Friday night pregame meetings, or winter weight training. They are all just that—memories, ones that will stick with me forever.
When I’m an old man, I’ll still remember taking the chainsaw hill with my team during the stifling heat of fall camp. I’ll remember max-out days in the weight room and jammed fingers and stingers during a game. I’ll remember ringing the bell before taking the field on Saturdays and throwing low fist bumps after a big play. I’ll remember hugging my parents and taking a photo with my girlfriend after a win. I’ll remember walking up the hill to practice and then jogging to the field. I’ll never forget the sound two helmets make when they strike together and I’ll always remember the feeling of pulling my pads off.
I’ve spent five years dedicating my entire life to this program. I can’t think of any task that requires as much effort or commitment. Because of my time as an Eagle, I know I can accomplish anything. And, when I’m in the classroom a few years from now teaching English or on the field coaching, you better believe I’ll be throwing up the low fist bump.
W.D.E Selected highlights from my careerFunniest teammate: This is a tough one because there are a lot of goofballs. I have to say it’s a tie between Dylan Furrier and Collin Eisenman.
Most memorable win: There are a couple. Last year when we came from down 17 points to beat Western New Mexico and a few years ago when we beat New Mexico Highlands on the last drive of the game.
Best road trip: This is a hard one because there are so many aspects to a trip. The ride back to Chadron can be totally different than the trip to the game. I think my favorite trip was riding back from Fort Lewis last year. It was the final game of the season and we ended on a win and I remember Tyler Kiess and I were looking out the window and spotting muley bucks everywhere.
Best chow of the year: The food at Palisades Restaurant in Gunnison (Western State) is great. The cheeseburgers and pasta and omelets and pancakes and bacon and eggs and cookies were all amazing. I’d eat there every day if I could.
My first memorable play: It was my first ever series as a college player against Western State in the fourth quarter. I remember we ran a blitz with man coverage and I was supposed to cover the running back. I was so caught up in everything that I forgot what I was supposed to do and the running back swung out to my left and he gained 15 yards before I tackled him. Don’t worry, I heard all about from the sideline.
Nov. 13, 2015
I don’t know which part of the victory bus trip home from Silver City I liked best: The comedies we watched, eating at Taco Bell, or the desert sunset out the west-facing windows of the bus. It was my final bus trip as an Eagle and it was one of the most memorable trips of my career.
I think New Mexico is a sweet state, so I have no problem travelling through the entirety of it while checking out the scenery and weird adobe buildings. We left Chadron Wednesday night and drove all night to New Mexico. We arrived in Silver City at around 4 o’clock on Thursday afternoon.
Saturday in Silver City was my last time wearing the road jersey. Today will be my last Friday practice in our black gear. Tonight is my last “night before.” Tomorrow will be the last time I ever wear the Eagle jersey. It’s all the reason more to “leave it all out there.”
I dropped a pick last week and it’s been driving me nuts. That’s something you carry off the field. On a guy’s last ever game of football, he can’t carry anything off the field. I want to leave Elliott Field knowing I did everything I could have done out there and I left it all on the field. Honestly, it’s not much different than any other game in that aspect. I never want to leave anything out there. However, with every other game, you always have another chance down the road. That’s not the case in the final game of your career. After this, it’s over. Nothing can be changed or made right.
People have asked me how I’m going to feel after my last game and quite honestly, I have no clue how I will feel. Being a football player has largely defined me as a person, ever since I was playing pee-wee league for the 49ers on the city fields in Gillette, Wyoming. These past five years, I have devoted countless hours to be a part of the Chadron State program, and after Saturday, there’s no more time to be given. I can’t say how that will feel because I simply do not know.
There really is nothing like stepping out on to a college field with your buddies and playing the greatest game ever created. That’s what it’s all about. Those game days are days we can look back on when we are old teachers, coaches, businessmen, ranchers, farmers, trainers, or whatever we become, to re-live the glory days.
I may not know what it’ll feel like for my career to end, but I do know Saturday is going to be a day I’ll remember forever.
W.D.E Nov. 5, 2015Going into a new week after a loss is tough.
It’s tough to put a loss behind you. It’s tough to forget about all of the things you could’ve done in the game that may have changed the outcome. To me, that’s the hardest part—knowing that something you could’ve done in a certain situation might’ve changed the game entirely. It’s a thought that lingers in many guys’ minds, not just mine.
But that type of thinking doesn’t change a thing. We lost, and that’s that. Feeling self-pity is the worst emotion to allow to linger in football. This program’s not about self-pity. It’s about having the guts to come back firing with everything you have the next week.
The season is winding down and we can’t afford to hang on to past failures. After Sunday film, we lift weights and the game from Saturday is left in the past. It doesn’t matter any longer. There’s always a different opponent coming up every week and each opponent puts a target on CSC.
We travel south to the end nation to face Western New Mexico University. Near the Mexican border, it’s a completely different world down there. It’s my last ever road trip as an Eagle, which is crazy to think about. It is fitting my last trip is a 981-mile jaunt, one way. The Road Warriors. The way I look at it, it’s 1,962 miles of eating, reading books like “All the Pretty Horses” and “No Country for Old Men”, watching movies, and catching some Zzzs. I don’t mind doing any of those things.
Each week is an opportunity to do what we love to do. Now, for the seniors, those opportunities are dwindling. We have two more weeks to play the greatest game in the world. This program is about a lot of things, like I mentioned, but it’s also about memories. Two weeks left means two more occasions to make some special ones.
W.D.E.Oct. 30, 2015Coach Long always tells us: “We will always get every team’s best shot. Nobody ever has a bad game or an off day against the Eagles.”
I always go into a game expecting it to be one that I’ll remember forever. And this is always the case—I have memories of every game I’ve been a part of during my time as an Eagle. However, every so often, a game comes along that will stick out as truly remarkable. The image of Dylan Furrier diving and grabbing that ball out of the air for an interception in the fourth quarter will always stick out to me. Before the game, Dylan and I talked about getting interceptions. Dylan insisted he was going to get his first collegiate pick and I believed him. Guys always talk about what they are going to do in the upcoming game, but it’s pretty awesome for someone to say they are going to get an interception and then do just that. Especially, when that pick is to end a game-winning drive by the opponent.
This is college football, and it doesn’t matter who you line up against, an undefeated team or a winless team—if you don’t take care of business like you need to, the opponent is going to make you pay. A team that has nothing to lose is always dangerous.
I’m just thankful that in the end, we were able to finally take care of business and find a way to win. I will add that I nearly went into cardiac arrest on fourth down as our offense was driving for the game-winning touchdown. Thankfully, Matt Vinson completed a huge pass to Zac Bargen for the conversion.
The days are getting shorter, meaning it’s nearly dark by the time practice is over on Tuesday and Wednesday. The cold gear is being pulled out for the first time of the year. I wore cold gear at Thursday morning practice for the first time this year. It was about 20 degrees, and thick clouds of breath rolled out of everyone’s facemasks as we exhaled. I noticed steam leaking out from underneath my shoulder pads and helmets as I started sweating. It was refreshing to practice in some chilly weather—I’m sick of the heat that has been hanging around.
This Saturday we face a dangerous team. As my dad would say, Highlands always “looks pretty good on the hoof.” They always have tons of athletes and it’s safe to say Highlands will give us its best shot, just like everyone else. This Saturday will be no different than any other Saturday. All we need to do is take care of business.
W.D.E Oct. 23, 2015Each Thursday morning begins with the sound of my alarm ringing at 5:18. I usually get up and sit on the edge of my bed for a few minutes and drink Gatorade to give my body some sugar for our early morning practice. I remember Zach Sandstrom saying “We’ll see ya dark and early!” a few years back, and it’s something that I stole and now say to my buddies as I leave the cafeteria on Wednesday nights.
It’s always dark at the start of the morning practices. Sometimes, it’s dark enough that you can barely see the lines on the field, and it takes a while to get light enough to see the ball in the air. The entire team waits in the middle of the practice field until Coach Long loudly blows his whistle, and we all take off and run, screaming around the goal post, running back to the end zone on the far side. The seniors each line up on the goal line and face the team, and the team forms lines five yards apart on each senior. We do Eagle Jacks and everyone runs to the front of the lines behind the seniors and we do our form running to warm up. This Thursday morning, I looked across the field and just saw silhouettes of my teammates’ helmets in front of the lights from campus.
The defense runs over to Coach Larson screaming “For the win!” and we recover fumbles. It’s now light enough to see the ball on the ground. We then move on to scoop and score, and one guy scoops up a fumble and pitches the ball to the guy lined up across from them. After that is red zone pass skel while the D-Line and O-Line work individual drills, then the offense and the defense each go to our team segments.
During team, the rays of the sun always begin to peak out from behind the Chadron water tower, and the darkness of Thursday morning practice is finally lifted. Lastly, the whole team comes together for the special teams segment. There has never been a break in the routine in all my five seasons as an Eagle. It’s my favorite practice of the week.
T
his Thursday, I walked into the afternoon special teams meeting in the old football locker room and was met with the sight of Collin Eisenman, Garret Walker, and Alex Sleep wearing denim Key overalls. Talk about a bunch of goobers. After the meeting, I even saw a Snapchat of Collin playing a banjo in his overalls in his basement. I can also add to that by saying it wasn’t the first time I’ve seen a Snapchat of him playing a banjo. Coach Jersey, who has been known to be seen wearing overalls to practice on cold days, was pretty enthused with their outfit choices, to say the least.
This week, we take our shortest road trip to Black Hills State. It’s a strange feeling playing on the road while being so close to home. The turf field at BHSU looks great to the naked eye, but on the field is a different story. I don’t know why or how, but the field is the hardest and most slippery turf field I’ve ever played on.
On a personal note, this game will be the first time in my college career that I will be squaring up with a fellow Greybull High alum. My longtime high school buddy, Rob, is a running back for the Jackets. If the opportunity presents itself, I won’t hesitate to make sure he has some bells ringing in his ears.
It’s always a challenge to come back and win a game after a big loss, especially a loss like last week. The only thing a guy can do is just flush it from his mind and focus on the game at hand. What happened last week, or two weeks ago, or three weeks ago, doesn’t make any difference on the game day at hand. You just have to go out there and get the job done. And if you’re on the road? It’s no different. You celebrate the win, get on the bus, and watch funny movies all the way back to the Rock.
I’m looking forward to a good bus ride home on Saturday.
W.D.E.Oct. 15, 2015Nothing feels quite like a win at home. My family always meets me at the same spot after a win — on the west end of the stands, right by the offense’s benches. My little nephew Dawson, aka Deejohn, likes me to pick him up and he hugs me. He always gets soaked in my sweat, but he doesn’t seem to mind, and he plays with my helmet after I put him down. I hug my family and my girlfriend and talk to my old man about the game because he’s always interested to know the details. My buds always come over and we take pictures that we’ll be able to look back on for years to come.
After a win, our locker room is a special scene. Well, special for us anyway.
An outsider might look in and wonder, “What in the world is wrong with these guys?” Yelling, hooting, hollering, New Jersey accents, Boston accents, and rambling, incoherent southern accents fill the locker room. Don’t ask me why guys fake these accents in the locker room—it’s just the way some of the weirdos on our team are wired. But I love it. Guys reminisce about the game that just ended, talking about funny things that happened on the field, and hits and awesome plays that were made.
This year after victories, Coach Long comes into the locker room and we do the humming chant from “The Wolf of Wall Street” and pound our chests. The noise reverberates off the walls and you feel the sound vibrating in your chest as it works its way out of your mouth. After the chant, it’s time to slap the house music on the speakers. Each one is a celebration that I’ll remember for my entire life.
After the festivities, Dylan Furrier, Tyler Kiess, Alex Sleep, Collin Eisenman and Issac Griffin all joined me at my parents’ camper and we feasted on New York strips, potatoes and corn, all of which was cooked to perfection by my dad on his camp grill. Also in attendance was Calder Forcella, my fellow Greybull High Alum. We feasted and shot the breeze until the sun dropped out behind the buttes on the Pine Ridge.
The leaves on the ashes and cottonwoods are starting to turn to a fiery yellow-orange and dry up, the little browns and brookies are stacking up to spawn in the local creeks. We are in the midst of fall, and now begins the downward swing of my last ever season of football. That’s something I try to ignore, but it’s always in the back of my mind.
Saturday, we’ll be in the middle of something else – a tough game that just so happens to be the last time this group of seniors will face Pueblo.
I wouldn’t have the game any other place than right here in Chadron. I can wake up and look at C-Hill as I drive up Main Street as I head to the team breakfast. After we eat, I can sit on the couch and get my mind ready for the upcoming battle. I always walk from my house to our locker room on game day. I don’t have to worry about finding a spot to park and it allows me to focus.
I also know after the game, I’ll see my loved ones on the west side of the stands. I’ll hung my nephew, I’ll pose for photos and then I’ll walk home.
The victory steaks will be waiting.
W.D.EOct. 9, 2015One of my favorite things about playing in the RMAC is the locations we get to play at. Western State in Gunnison is one of those locations. The town of Gunnison sits in a valley near the mountains on the western slope of Colorado. However, the air can feel a little thin. Your lips may turn a little blue by the end of the game and you may get that bloody taste in the back of your throat. That’s coming from a guy who trains in the summers at about 6,500 feet in elevation. But elevation is just one of those factors that only affects a guy as much as he lets it. If you shut your mind off and just play, it’s not a big factor.
The bus ride home always feels good after a win. We watched “The Departed,” one of my all-time favorite movies, to start the trek back to Chadron. Tyler Kiess, Alex Sleep, Garret Walker and I improvised the Dropkick Murphys’ song “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” that plays in “The Departed” to replace “Boston” with “Chadron.” I couldn’t help but notice that the aspen trees have begun to color up, turning from green to bright orange and yellow. I also couldn’t help but notice the Arkansas River as we cruised by the town of Salida, and I thought to myself that it looked like it would be some great fishing.
The last thing that I’ll say about the trip to Gunnison is that the food we eat at Palisades Restaurant is amazing. Without a doubt, it’s one of my favorite places to eat in the RMAC. At breakfast, they cook fresh omelets for the whole team. They put out a hell of a spread for us at noon, and we have our Friday practice at 1:30. So after eating a couple of cheeseburgers, a heaping pile of curly fries, and a few more cookies than a guy should probably eat in one sitting, you may feel slightly bloated at 1:30. I found myself noticing the few extra pounds that I put into my stomach when the linebackers and defensive line run routes for Coach Sweet and Coach Streeter.
Now, we are back home with Adams State for homecoming. The last time they were here was interesting because we were bombarded with one of the worst fall snow storms I have ever seen two years ago. It was the only time I have ever played in a game on Sunday.
The only thing that’s left between now and Saturday is our Friday practice and meetings. Linebackers and D-Line will work pass rush moves, then the whole defense will come together for the walkthrough. After that, the whole team will come together and all segments will go through the game script walkthrough. It’s a safe bet that I’ll be laughing about the goofy antics of guys like Dylan Furrier as he makes ridiculous screams running down the field on special teams.
The defense will be yelling “BRING THE GAS!” and hooting and hollering as we sprint out onto the field to fly around and pick off the ball or “tackle” Coach Sasse, who always plays QB for the air offense we play against. Despite all of the noise, it’s all about preparing ourselves mentally for the game, and the expectations of greatness and attention to detail never leave.
Elliott Field is all painted up, and when I look at the Chadron State Eagle at midfield, I can’t wait to be out there. My teammates and I look forward to the battle that will take place Saturday.
Personally, I always look forward to trading colors with the opposition. The colored streaks on my helmet and uniform show the various hues of the opponents. I leave the colors on my helmet week-after-week, and the combination of several shades, scars if you will, documents my season.
Saturday is the next chapter. As I mentioned in an earlier entry, each week is one more check off the final to-do list of a senior. I’m looking forward to adding a little bit of green to my cardinal.
W.D.EOct. 1, 2015I’ll start off by using a quote from Josey Wales that Coach Larson put on the defensive scouting reports. It’s had a profound effect on me.
“Now remember, when things look bad and it looks like you're not gonna make it, then you gotta get mean. I mean plumb, mad-dog mean. Cause if you lose your head and you give up then you neither live nor win. That's just the way it is.”Coach couldn’t have chosen a better statement for our team. We have always been taught and coached to have a chip on our shoulder when we step on the field. This week, it feels as if that chip has turned into an anvil. I am hungry to win because it has eluded us these past few weeks. I am starving.
It’s been three weeks of hearing the same things from friends and family too often.
“Nice job out there, just too bad you guys didn’t come out on top.”
“You guys played a close game.”
“You definitely could’ve won.”
How does the old saying go? “Close only counts in horse-shoes and hand grenades.”
Close doesn’t cut it. The loss side of the record doesn’t show you played someone close, or that you could’ve won, or that you played really well. All it shows is the loss.
It’s back on the road for the Eagles this week; the Road Warriors. It’s another game against a tough opponent. That’s nothing new for us, as we always expect a tough game no matter whom we are up against. It’s a game against another team who is also sick of hearing the same things after close games that we are tired of hearing.
Josey Wales also had something else to say in his righteous movie:
“Are you gonna pull those pistols or whistle Dixie?”I believe that the toughest team isn’t always the team sitting at the top of the conference. Sometimes, the toughest team is the team who gets knocked down and has the courage and the fortitude to pick themselves up off the dirt and fight with every inch of their souls, clawing, shooting, and fighting their way back to the top where they belong.
It’s time to get back to where we belong.
W.D.ESept. 25, 2015
It’s been too long since we played on Elliott Field. In my opinion, there’s nothing like it in the RMAC. It has a lot of history because it was built in 1929. That means there’s been 84 season openers on the hallowed turf since it opened. That field has seen its fair share of wins.
There’s something that makes Elliott Field even more special to me: my dad, John, played for the Eagles in the 80s. We each have pictures with our family members and friends and girlfriends after awesome games on Elliott Field. We both have our senior season football pictures on Elliott Field, each of us on a knee with our uniform on. The only difference is that he has a moustache in his senior season picture, and I, unfortunately, am unable grow a moustache.
The coaches paint the field each week on Thursday after our early morning practice, and the grass is cut nicely and in perfect condition. There’s nothing like seeing the finished product with the Eagle head at the 50. It’s an old stadium—but it’s ours. It’s a blue collar field for a blue collar team. There’s a certain aura that surrounds Elliott Filed that’s indescribable. So much history has been made on its turf. It doesn’t have a $5 million press box, and it doesn’t have a state-of-the-art scoreboard. Who cares? I like it that way. We step on to the field to play ball and win, nothing more. Last time I checked, a sweet scoreboard and an awesome press box doesn’t reel in wins.
This Saturday is big because Mesa is here. It’s a game that has always felt like a rivalry to me and to many of my teammates. Mesa is always a very tough team and you can bet that they roll into Chadron with their guns loaded for bear. Just like I said with our opponent last week, it’s probably my last ever game against Mesa. It’s hard for me to accept things like this. Coach Long talked to the seniors about how everything we do this year is for the last time. Last fall camp, last home opener, last Family Day, last Mesa week.
You can find me pregame walking around the locker room, loosening my aching shoulders, stretching my hips and back, and punching my palms to get my hands ready for contact. Deftones will be pouring out of my headphones. It’s part of my routine. My buddies and I try to stay as loose as possible before the game. We quietly joke around to ease the tension. The pressure would make me go crazy, but the guys help keep the nerves at bay. We perform best when we are loose and ready to play instead of being stern and uptight.
There’s a sense of urgency this week, as always. Each week is the most important game. Each game is a season defining moment. It’s the kind of game to turn up the music a little louder, put on a little more eye-black, tighten the chinstrap a little tighter, put a little more air in the helmet, and a little extra tape on the wrists. It’s time to come out swinging.
PS - It was awesome meeting Brandon Marshall of the Broncos after last week's game.
W.D.ESept. 17, 2015The end of the week began with another trip to Missouri. We had the usual stop in St. Joseph, Missouri, at Golden Corral. First things, first: I love Golden Corral. I always help myself to several plates of steak, popcorn shrimp, and hush puppies. Buffets are the best place to feed more than 50 football players and coaches and staff because there are so many things to feast on.
This particular Golden Corral also created a wonderful photo opportunity as my good friend, Alex Sleep, took a moment to think on life as we waited to board the bus to continue on the trip. Enjoy the photo (and the mullet)!
As we rolled along the interstate through Missouri, we bore witness to one of the most intense electrical storms that I have ever seen. Torrential downpour pelted the bus and constant lightning lit up Kansas City as we cruised through. “Mad Max: Fury Road” was playing on the TVs. It was a memorable bus ride to say the least.
The result of the game against Missouri State speaks for itself. A loss is a loss. Our record doesn’t display that we played them close. All it shows is a big, ugly, disgusting, sickening, horrible “1” in the loss column. And, it leaves a sour taste in your mouth. We work too hard to accept losing. That feeling that ensues after a loss is bitter. The bus ride is gloomy and I hate it. After a loss, all I want to do is get the disgusting taste off my tongue.
How do you get rid of that bitterness? It’s simple – win the next game. And there could be no better game to do it against than this upcoming Saturday.
Mines. It’s indescribable the excitement that the squad carries into practice each day of Mines week.
“I can’t wait for Mines,” a linebacker said during our drills Tuesday.
“I wish tomorrow was Saturday,” I think to myself.
In the Chadron State College locker room, weight room, and practice field, there is a well-known saying regarding Mines that is echoed by all. All players and former players from recent years know this saying well. Hooting and hollering echoes against C-Hill as the defense prepares against the scout team offense. There’s nothing like Mines week.
Friday we get on the bus, and we won’t be back on it for a few weeks. It’s most likely my last game against Mines. It’s also most likely the last game against Mines for my senior teammates. It’s a great rivalry and it is guaranteed to be a hard hitting and emotional game. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
The excitement has been building all week. I can feel it deep down in the pit of my stomach right now. My hands are getting sweaty just from writing this and that excitement wants to come out. But I will hold it back until Saturday, just as my teammates will. Finally, that pent up emotion will be unleashed as we get underway at Marv Kay Stadium in Golden, Colorado, for the first conference game in their new stadium. We don’t plan on leaving with sour tastes in our mouths.
W.D.ESept. 9, 2015Everyone is always looking forward to the first bus trip. Coach Long says it best—we are road warriors. We get on the bus and we travel. It’s just what we do. Some would use a 15-hour bus ride as an excuse to not perform at their highest level, but not us. We embrace the long bus rides and hotel stays. It’s part of the experience. There are some road trips that take us to such foreign locations and Rolla, Missouri is one of those trips.
After about five hours on the bus, I found myself checking Google Maps on my phone nonstop. Only 10 more hours to go. A lot of guys like to sleep, some guys listen to music, some read, and some like to watch the awful, B-List movies that are shown on the way down. In case you’re wondering, I listen to music and stare out the window. I also read a few graphic novels on the way. After our 8:30 am Tuesday departure from Chadron, we finally reached Rolla at about 1:30 in the morning.
Every August when I return to Chadron, I’m always blown away by the humidity. I live in Rock Springs, Wyoming, which is mild and dry, and so it takes me a few days to get used to Chadron’s climate. However, Chadron humidity pales in comparison to that of east-central Missouri. It’s like entering a new world for a guy like me, who grew up in the desert. The humidity almost instantly builds a glaze of sweat. Even a bald guy like Chris Conroy noticed what hair he had was curly.
The night before a game is a special night for our team. After a day full of eating, relaxation, homework, and film study, we have our standard pregame walkthrough. It mimics what we do prior to kick off on game day. We wear helmets and our black Nike workout gear. The dress for pregame practice is always blacked out.
Under the stadium lights in Rolla, Coach Long led our customary static stretch as thousands of cicadas were making their calls in the trees surrounding the stadium. Midway through the practice, my dri-fit shirt, along with the majority of my teammates’ shirts, were completely stuck to my skin with sweat. A precursor of a hot and sweaty game to ensue on Thursday.
After walkthrough, it’s time for the pregame meetings. Offense and defense both have their own routine. After that, the special teams players meet with Coach Jersild to rehash scheme and for last minute reminders. Coach Jers always gives a great pregame talk. Whether a guy is on offense, defense, or special teams, Coach Jers’ talks will give him chills.
After that, the entire team meets and we listen to Coach Long. After he is done with his talk, we sit in silence for a moment. We are a fun loving group of guys, but during the pregame team meeting, you can hear a cotton ball hit the carpet. It’s all business at this point. We go over the routine for the game, we watch the hit tape, and we head to the stadium on a deathly silent bus.
An hour until game time. We go through pregame warm ups and get nice and sweaty. We return to the locker room, put on our shoulder pads. The defensive line and linebackers get a pregame talk from Coach Larson, the offense meets with Coach Stein, and the DBs meet with Coach Jers. D-Line and linebackers met with Coach Larson in a tiled shower room, and let me just say that it was one hell of a hype session. If you’ve ever Coach Larson talk, he doesn’t have an inside voice. It got a little loud in there and the excitement for the game continued to build.
Finally, kickoff was here. The game began in 94 degree heat and intense humidity as the sun began to dip behind the stadium. Sweat squirted out of my cleats and spat, providing each step a sloshing noise. Sweat ran down my legs and arms. I didn’t have a dry inch on my body.
There’s nowhere in this world that I would rather be than with my teammates on the field. The defense does its job, offense does its job, and special teams does its job. We win. Mission accomplished. We get on the bus, catch some shut eye as we ride all night back to The Rock.
For every game we get 24 hours to celebrate or 24 hours to think about what went wrong. Then, we move on.
This week, we’ve got another long bus ride. We’ve got another hotel stay. We’re playing in the heat and humidity under the Show Me State sun while we face Missouri State. I hear it’s a sold out crowd in Springfield.
But to me, there’s no place I’d rather be.
W.D.ESept. 1, 2015In my opinion, the first day of fall camp is one of the best days of the year as an Eagle football player. After spending months apart, we’re finally back in Chadron as a team. Handshakes, high fives, laughter, and yes, even hugs are shared. Inside jokes immediately resume as if they happened the day before and the camaraderie quickly begins to pick back up. Sure, we may have spent several months away from our teammates, but that does not diminish the closeness of this group of guys. Best friends are brought back together and a great number of newcomers embark on what they hope to be a long and successful career.
The past summer has been one of hard work and dedication. Countless hours were spent in a weight room, sprinting gassers on local fields, and running stadium stairs and agility drills. The best players improve themselves in the summer. They stand in the evening sun, sweating profusely and breathing deeply with their pulse pounding in their ears. They stand tall. They don’t show weakness and most guys do it all on their own.
At the end of summer, the itch for camp begins. Players make their late summer pushes to work as hard as possible to prepare their bodies for the season ahead. Summer is over and we begin to make our way back to The Rock. Some guys fly out of airports on the West Coast, some make the drive from Wyoming or Colorado, some emerge from the intense heat of the American South, and some have just been waiting and working in Chadron all summer.
Myself, I drive from the mild climate of the high desert in southwestern Wyoming. As soon as I stepped out of my pickup in Chadron, I was greeted by that Chadron heat and humidity. I knew it was time to get to work.
Before we don our uniforms and take pictures for media day, a bunch of us run into the weight room and hammer out some dumbbell curls to get a quick arm swell for our pictures. During pictures, the seniors form an old-school cheerleader pyramid. I somehow find myself on the bottom of the pile with a few bony knees driving into my back for a few painful moments and grit my teeth for a smile. I know all of us will look back on it with fond memories in the years to come.
After media day, we meet by position for the first of many camp meetings in which we begin to install our schemes and study practice film. In the ensuing days of practice and conditioning, we go through rigorous drills to shake off the rust and hone our techniques. Then, finally the offense and defense tie up for intense scrimmage periods. After each practice, we are put through the customary conditioning drills. Players yell “Fire ‘em up!” and make the noises of a Husqvarna as we make our way to the famous “chainsaw hill.”
Linebackers go through a traditional drill called, “10 Minutes of Hell.” Anytime Coach Larson introduces the concept of the drill and throws out the words “mental” and “toughness,” you know you’re in for a good time. Trust me, this isn’t my first rodeo.
As much as these practices and meetings seem to wear us down, they are also building us up to be ready for the knockdown-drag out games that are sure to take place this season.
Last Saturday was the end of camp. The last one, actually, for me and my senior teammates. At the end of camp, we ran up our hallowed hill and we did Eagle Jacks overlooking the town of Chadron.
E-A-G-L-E-S
Eagles. Eagles. Eagles.
Ready break!
Now, it’s time to turn our full attention to Missouri S&T. Trust me, the team can’t wait for Thursday. All of the man hours spent working out in the summer, all of the spring practices and morning conditioning sessions last semester, all of the hard work we put in during camp—is about to be let loose in Rolla, Missouri.
W.D.E
