Troy University Athletics
Making Progress
8/6/2008 5:00:00 AM | General
Tale of the Tape
Tuesday, August 6
Making Progress, One Day at a Time
There are so many things going on during the course of any given day that some tasks seem insurmountable at first.
I have taken on a personal goal of knowing names and faces for all the players by the end of camp, which is fast approaching. I was challenged in the dining hall at lunch yesterday by a practical joker (whose name sounds a lot like Sherrod Martin) trying to convince me he was someone else.
I have a problem with face transposition I think, if there is such a thing. Meaning, I usually find two people that look or act similarly in my mind and will forever mix their names up.
I'll be lucky to know whether they belong to offense or defense because they all wear the same color jerseys at games! I don't think I will ever know their numbers, which is such an abstract thing in my head. I guess it's a good thing I didn't become an accountant!!
There are so many other things related to the X's and O's of
football that I have somehow missed out on along my upbringing. Although I
watched football growing up and have watched many a game of Trojan
Chuck Ash and I went over the basics of the wishbone offense, which we do not play, so I've been told, but I thought it would be enlightening to know.
Another thing that is VERY intriguing to me at practice is the yelling of abstract terms and people waving their arms on the sidelines. All of those gyrations and words are used to relay the calls to the players on the field. The fast pace of our offense, so I've been told, relies on these calls from the sidelines and our players' execution of them.
I'm going to have to make a few mental notes for sideline etiquette as I return to the field this year. First of all, since I have been knocked down on the sideline when we played Minnesota a few years back (by getting too involved in the play on the field) I am going to have to make sure I am no where near Neal Brown and his entourage of play callers.
I will end up watching them, mouth gaping in awe, and not to what's going on and end up a sideline casualty like Chuck did last year.
Another thing is to make sure I don't act like I'm shooting free throws or throwing darts on the sideline because I might relay the wrong signal...as if I would know what the right signal would be!
Until next time, I'll be memorizing names and faces of TMTDM!
GO TROJANS
Alyson
