Given the successes of last year, I once again went to Columbus to work on my swim with Coach Ryan.
I had hoped to have more time in the pool with him. Unfortunately, the timing this year did not work out as well as in 2023. I was only able to get three sessions in with him.
Prior to getting to Columbus, I had also spent time working with Coach Joe (Experience Triathlon) during the winter.
I hoped to build off of what I had been working on with Coach Joe as I worked with Coach Ryan. And I believe that I succeeded in that!
While I don’t remember all of the drills we did over the three sessions, I do remember having come out of those two days feeling faster! We’ll see how it plays out during the Indoor Tri season.
If you’re in the Columbus area and looking for a swim coach, I STRONGLY recommend reaching out to Ryan (www.rct.coach) I hope to work more with him in the future!
Last year, I cam away from the Inagural Welcome2Running camp with a lot of knowledge. I went into this camp intending to build on last year. Like last year, the different groups (VI, Ambulatory, Wheelies) rotated through the different sessions.
After eveyone had arrived, the camp started with a run of about 2 miles at a “warm up” pace and yoga, followed by dinner. Knowing that the next day would be a long, challenging one, I tapped out early.
The second day started started with functional strength, dynamic warmup/”tire pulls” and “circle running” (essentially running a 1/4 mile loop over and over at a decent pace). After lunch, a nutrition session, and an amazing presentation by Jeff, we headed out for the “main” set. This was doing repetitive 3/1, 2/1, and 1/1 run/walk intervals, with increasing paces as the run time decreased. At that time, my back was hurting from the tire pulls in the morning, but I was determined to go for as long as I could. I believe that I made it through 3 cycles of the intervals, with the 1/1 pace being about 10:45 – 11:00, before having to tap out. After getting through dinner, I was in so much pain that I had to lie down in the room instead of hanging out in the pool as intended. But it helpef for Sunday.
The camp finished with the same “community run” (athletes) and “beer mile” (coaches) as last year. The community run was great, and I finished by sprinting in.
Thank you to Team Catapult and all the sponsors/volunteers that made this camp possible! Thank you to David for all his help and for guiding me throughout the weekend!
Over the past 10 years, DONKA has helped me tremendously in so many ways — including technology training, book conversions, and more. So it has been an honor to be part of their team and help raise funds through running the Naperville Half Marathon / 5K!
While I couldn’t be there in person, I did run the 5K virtually before heading to Texas. Although I thought I had marked it out properly, we still ended up finishing on the big hill. Nothing like a steep climb after 3 miles of running…
Thank you to the local runner who guided me while I did this virtual 5K! If you would like to support DONKA, please visit donkainc.org
I have done a lot of night runs over the last several years. They have run the gamut from the really great GloRUns to the really bad “glow runs” (which IMO should really have been advertised as a “night run”). While not being a Glow Run, Light the Torch was just as good!
This was because the RO/RD did an amazing job of finding a path that was naturally well-lit and then adding additional lights where needed. Also, the route was almost completely smooth, with very few cracks. That’s extremely important when you can’t see all the little details in the dark.
The race itself went well for us. As I couldn’t see much, I was completely relying on Ian to be my eyes. While there were a couple of decent hills, it was still a solid night run.
There had been a festival going on throughout the day. When the race ended, the beer was within it, so we saw a little of it. This was a really, really, really fun, well organized race. Can’t wait to run it again in 2024! Thanks to Ian for all his help and guiding me!
I understan that no race is ever going to be “perfect”. Weather can change a Tri to a Du, among other things. BUT IMO, the Race Director (RD) and Race Organizer (RO) should have everything that they can control in line. That did not happen here IMO…
To start with, the weather made it an “interesting” weekend. I flew into and out of Charlotte. Throughout almost the entire drive up, back, and surrounding the race, it was raining hard.
There was about a 30 minute delay to the race start. During that time, I believe the RD/RO should have been checking the buoys. From others who had watches, the swim appears to have been 950-1000m instead of the 750m. This also explained why we were in the water for more than 30 minutes.
Once on the bike, a couple of sharp turns gave me issues. I also did not like the fact that this was not a closed bike course. It wasn’t so bad going out, but trying to make a tight turn with cars less than 6 feet from the bike created issues.
After making it to the run, we ran about a 1/4 mile, and were then directed onto the “para only” run course. Each of these loops was about 1.25 miles, so as we finished the 2nd loop, I believed we were going to run out and towards the finish line. However, Jonathan said that we still had another loop per the signage.
At this point, I was hurting (as I had being pacing for a 5K), and knew I was in 3rd place for ADT1 (Open) VI Male. I had seen the 4th place guy behind me by about 3/4s of a lap as we were running our second lap. After giving Jonathan an “aw [explitive]” look, we started the 3rd loop. As much as I was hurting, the largest goal was to not get passed. And thankfully I was able to keep that going until we crossed the finish line at roughly 4.25 miles (instead of 3.1).
I am grateful to Jonathan and Para Guide for all of their support so I could race PT Nationals! If PT Nationals is back there in 2024, I truly hope that the RO/RD will have made the proper adjustments. The race is supposed to be 750m/20K/5K, not 950-1000m/13mi/4.25m.
(Photo courtesy of Tough Mudder Staff — running through Electroshock Therapy)
“Actions speak louder than words […] Be brave, clench fists.” – The Streets
It’s one thing to say “I’m going to try something out of my comfort zone”; it’s another to actually do it. As part of actually doing it, this was my first Obstacle Course Race (OCR).
Going into it, my largest concern was Electroshock Therapy (a 10K volt shock field). But as I found out throughout the day, I should have been worried about other things…
Before you start, they take a photo. WHile I’m sure that 90%+ of this is to ensure proper photo IDs in states where facial recognition is allowed, that didn’t stop the bad jokes…
The first obstacle we encountered was “Devil’s Beard”. This involved crawling under a cargo net. It was a good “intro” obstacle. After a short run, we then hit “Mud Mile”.
I think the best way to describe “Mud Mile” is (a) spend a few hours digging a 8×25 hole, and then (b) fill that hole about 75% full of water. Thankfully, on most of the holes, there was a “lip” to use for footing to get out. Scott helped tremendously with getting in/out.
Next up was “Kiss of Mud”, which involves crawling under barbed wire, with occasional mud. There were a LOT of small stones and gravel throughout. I regretted not putting on the kneepads before we went through; but lesson learned for 2024.
After “Mud Mile”, we headed down into the water (Abseil) and across it. It was a nice day, and this was a nice way to get a fair amount of mud off! Once across, we headed to “Berlin Walls” — a straight vertical wall without any handholds. Imagine trying to do a 10-12 foot box jump… The first time around, I fell, and fell into one of the struts. I was fortunate to walk away with just scratches, and after a second failed attempt, we passed on it.
We then headed over to “Arctic Enema”. With it being in the 80s and late in the race, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. The ice bath experiences that I’ve had in the past helped a lot. I would guess it was 35-40 in the water.
Up next was “Block Ness Monster”. This is a set of rotating blocks, where you have to get a long grip over the top, and then get rotated over. The first block wasn’t too bad; but when I went over the second one, I got blasted up the nose.
After “Block Ness” fun, we headed to the second of the climbing obstacles. While it was listed as “Texas Hold ‘Em”,, the name may be different. I think the best way to describe the obstacle is this — cut a log in half, and then put steel steps upside-down on the top part of the log. This was the first obstacle that we encountered the Oscar Mike guys (including Tim), and they helped tremendously several times. With this obstacle, a group of 3 or 4 helped me to get up the “front” side, and about that many had to help ensure I got down safely (as I turned around too early at the top).
After making it back across the water and back up the hill (“Cliffhanger”?), we headed to “Widow’s Peak”. This obstacle has you on a pair of slacklines. At first (and as the vidoe shows), they were wobbling a lot. Thankfully the person behind me held them taut, which made things better.
After this, we headed to “Everst” – a 12+ foot sloped wall. As I didn’t think I could make it up, the offered a ‘lift assist’. The problem being that the harness kept slipping. Very interesting ride up, but the Oscar Mike folks helped again at the top.
We then headed to “Mudderhorn”, which had an about six foot space before you got the start of the cargo net. Once at the top (about 30 feet), you then had to go up and over. While coming down, I missed a couple of footholds because of connection points. This became a real issue when my foot went through the hole and I almost fell. Thankfully TIm from Oscar Mike was there to help Scott keep me on the net.
After getting down and taking a few minutes to recoup, we headed to the final obstacle (“Electroshock Therapy”). This was a field of hanging “shock wires” (10K volts). In theory, you could crawl through it, and maybe get shocked minimally. As we were standing there, I said to Scott, “let’s just rip the bandaid off and run”. We did that, and I got shocked about 15 times; but we made it through on our feet!
Even with some of the missteps, it was still an amazingly fun day. A huge thank you to Scott and all of the Oscar Mike guys for their help!
Going into the Naperville Sprint, I was still unsteady on the bike. Even though it had been about fifteen months since the crash in Texas, it was still giving me the ‘yips’. My guide (Billy) was aware of this going in, and did everything possible to make it better.
As in prior years, we were the final ones of the Sprint into the water. While I’ve been put right after the Elites in prior years, that’s caused issues. Having people that can legitimately swim 90 second / 100s behind you leads to being climbed over. Unfortunately, going at the end doesn’t elimiate that either — as someone tried using me as a ‘kickboard’ (for flotation) a couple times in the final leg.
T1 was slightly slower than last year. Once off on the bike, the first few turns were a bit nervewracking. But Billy helped a lot with that. And as we got into the 2nd loop, I was far more comfortable. I remember him saying that the U-turn was coming up when I though it was still at least 500 yards away. 🙂
T2 was 55 seconds faster than last year. While there were parts that turned into a run/walk like last year, it turned out better. I was able to shave almost 4 minutes off of the run time from last year!
As always, this was a great race. Thanks to Billy for guiding me! I look forward to being back in 2024!
A little over 9 years ago, I showed up for my first Dare2Tri camp in Pleasant Prairie, WI. As I’ve mentioned in the past, I had very little gear and experience when I arrived in 2015. I left that first camp having learned so much — and have from each of the following Dare2Tri camps!
While I’ve done 80 Triathlons since the one that ended the camp in 2015, this week was like ‘starting over’. Between personal issues, a perceived drowning the last time I raced Pleasant Prairie and a crash 13 months earlier, there was a lot I wanted to work on.
After the camp introduction, Day 1 began with triple bricks (T1->3mi bike->T2->1mi run x3). One part of the bike course included a wide u-turn that required a little bit of off-roading given the narrow trail.
Because of the crash in TX, I was concerned about that off-road portion and reaching for my bottle. But knowing that I had an extremely experienced pilot and guide (Andrew) gave me confidence that it would all work out.
While the first bike loop went well (including successful bottle grabs), I went out too fast on the run. Although Andrew helped me to get things back on pace after the first 100-200, unintentionally going out at 9:30-10 / mile created issues.
During the 2nd bike loop, we started hearing noises from the chain. The u-turn went more smoothly this time, and we made it back without any issues. The pacing for the 2nd run went better, and it seemed like a more ‘normal’ 1 mile run for me.
After we finished the 2nd brick, Andrew took a look at the bike while I took a few extra minutes to recover. Even though it was making noise, he felt confident it was safe, so we got ready for the final brick.
During the 3rd ride, the noise got worse as he went through the gears. While it was a bit unnerving to continually hear the noise — and at times hear it get worse — I trusted him that we’d be fine. Less than a half mile in, he said that we would only have a few gears to work with because of the issues, and found a gear where the noise was minimal. The u-turn wasn’t as smooth as the prior time, but we made it through and back safely. During the final run, he helped me to find a way to run more relaxed. In fact, I was so calm that I didn’t even notice that we had hit the turnaround!
After lunch, a talk on gear/travel and a chance for recovery, we headed into the pool. Even though it was a short session, I still learned a couple of new skills.
Day 2 began with us setting up a full transition before heading into the lake for a practice swim. While I felt it went well, Andrew told me afterwards that the tether kept slipping on him. He obtained a new bungee so that a new waist portion could be created prior to the race.
After getting out of the water, Andrew worked on the bike. From memory, it ended up being a bolt that was off by 2 degrees, which in turn was causing the derailer to be off. He was able to get everything adjusted, and the bike was set for the rest of the weekend.
After lunch, a bike course preview and classification talk, we headed out for bike skills. When heading out, we realized how crucial the angles were (as the seat at its lowest was higher than I am used to). We got that straightened out, and joined the rest of the Visually Impaired (VI) group for ‘tandemonium’ (11 tandems!).
During the first part, the course was a square with first left turns and then right turns. As I’m still working back from the crash, there were some turns that were very uncomfortable — but we made it through. After a short break, Aaron set up a more technical course that included 90 and 180 turns.
During the first few times through, I was extremely uncomfortable on the tightest of the 3 u-turns. Both Andrew and Aaron helped with coaching, and by the end of the session I had become comfortable enough to not only make the tight turn, but also have proper weighting for the others!
The day ended with breath work and a course talk from the RD. Andrew created a new waist portion of the swim tether while we were waiting for dinner, attaching it to the old thigh portion.
The night ended with the normal inking process and packing. As with most races, I intended to be leaving directly from the race site, so I had everything with me.
Even though it had rained overnight, Andrew said that it had dried up enough so that there were very minimal issues. Although the lake was still about the same temperature post-rain, I decided to go with the wet suit.
Because of a change to the bike course last-minute, our wave (Para Sprint) started first and about 35 minutes before the next Sprint wave. This meant that we had a fairly open course during the race.
While the issues from 2019 were in the back of my mind, I was able to keep them at bay during the swim. Even though the waist portion of the tether kept slipping and I had to adjust it 15-20 times, the swim was consistent with the practice one.
In T1, I took an extra 20 – 30 seconds to grab a windbreaker since it had gotten windy, and then we headed out onto the bike.
There were several hills on the bike, along with a 180 and several other turns. On the way out, I was a bit tentative on some of the turns. But on the way back, I found some of the comfort that I’d had prior to the crash. This included tucking in behind Andrew to get some aero on downhills, and multiple smooth bottle grabs. During one of these aero tuckins, we hit 27mph! I know that it’ll continue to get better with more practice.
T2 was normal, and we headed out onto the run. At some point between 3/4 of a mile and 1 mile, my lower back seized up and made it hard to run. So I had to go to a walk/run — walking when perceived pain got to a 7 or 8 and running again when it got down to a 2 or 3. Hydration definitely helped it during the out-and-back portion. While it wasn’t a great 5K, I still sprinted in as usual.
Thank you to Andrew for guiding me, and to Aaron, all the other coaches and Dare2Tri for all their help and sharing of knowledge over the weekend!
If you’re looking to improve your Triathlon skills, regardless of your level, I would strongly recommend any of the Dare2Tri camps! In 2023, the Kids camp (mid-July in Chicago) and Learn2Race (early August in WI) are still available! You can learn more by visiting the Dare2Tri website!
“The greatest resource is time and you can’t buy back the clock.” – Macklemore
Before I start into this blog, I just want to mention that this post will be a bit different. For years, I’ve gone into a lot of detail on everything related to that post. For this particular one, there are large parts that I’m not going to focus on. For the simple reason that I believe going through every single detail spoils the special aspect of this experience.
Also, there are several public items that I will reference:
[1] Mike Drosieko’s Day 1 Recap, Day 2 Recap and Game Day Recap. There should be one final video in the channel at some point soon (full wrap up).
[3] TD run — you’ll need to scroll down a few posts.
[4] Camp Information (this is now showing the 2024 version, but from memory the prior detailed 2023 one mirrored the compressed 2024 view).
To get a good overview of what went on in more detail, please take a look at [1] and [4]. The two combined, along with the below should give you a really good idea of what you’re in for if you can make camp work in 2024!
As I’ve mentioned in the past (and shared during camp), I first found the Notre Dame Football Fantasy Camp (NDFFC) in 2006. At that time, it was run by Global Football (Patrick Steenberge — who I learned during camp was a former ND player). At that time, it wasn’t feasible. 17 years later and multiple false starts, it finally all came together. And I’ll be honest that there was a portion of time in there that I feared my ‘borrowed time’ of vision would run out before I could attend at least once.
During that 17 year time span, conference realignments added an unexpected wrinkle to attending. So before I could share the news about being able to attend the 2023 NDFFC publicly, I had to talk with several people privately. It was out of respect and along the lines of ensuring that they weren’t blindsided when they saw the posts — or later on when they saw the changes during the season.
During the 2 months between when I registered and when camp unofficially began, I sent the information they requested, made sure the coaches knew about the vision issues (I learned the hard way that it’s best to tell them up front… rather than when they see me losing track of footballs in an indoor facility), and asked a lot of questions. The biggest fear during this whole time (and honestly until we walked in from practice #2) was running out of the tunnel and onto the field. I know that we all live in a digital world and people love ‘train wrecks’. So I was concerned about not seeing something as I ran out, tripping/falling, and creating a viral video for fans of Notre Dame’s rivals to use. Olivia was extremely helpful with information and assured me there would be someone to run out with me and ensure safety. That all helped immensely, and I was grateful for all of her help. 🙂 Mike was also extremely helpful with information to answer questions I had, which I really appreciated.
One of the requested pieces in late April or early May was a photo and bio for the camp media guide. I had no idea exactly what to write, but I know my draft made mention of the vision issues. What I saw in the final version didn’t mention any of that. At the time, I thought it was odd — later on, I think I realized why it was done that way. And in the end, I agree with the edit choices. 🙂 IMO, it was along the lines of ‘you may have a disability, but we’re viewing you as a camper/player first. We know about it, but the other pieces are what we’re going to focus on.’
They weren’t the only ones who had that view during the week. Another group was the cart people at the local golf course… As part of the unofficial start to camp, I joined one of the foursomes to spend time with guys. I was running late, so I had to get assistance from the cart staff getting out to the first hole where the last group was waiting to tee off. As there were 5 of us and only 2 carts, they kept wanting to give me a cart to drive. I tried to politely decline it; I tried pointing to the cane in my bag. However, neither of these worked. I had to go to ‘Is your liability insurance fully paid up’ before they finally got it and rearranged the carts so I could ride and drink beer while the others focused on golf. Even though I have some vision in bright daylight (my estimate has always been 50-60% of normal vision), it would not have been a good idea for anyone involved for me to be trying to drive a golf cart.
Camp started on Tuesday with a circuit between Equipment Fitting, Photo Shoot, time in the locker room and paperwork. While I’ve seen photos and videos over the years of other campers going to their locker during the first session, those didn’t compare to the experience of doing it myself. Day 1 also included the first practice (skills), a dinner with the current team and the Golden Standard piece that Mike mentions in his Day 1 video (see Chris Zorich reference).
Day 2 included two practices, team meetings and presentations from coaches. It also included installation of plays and the team draft. / captain vote
Before the final practice on day 3, they revealed the team captains. I was honored to be chosen as one of the team captains for the Gold team! Pre-game also included a meal, a couple of talks from Coach Freeman, Mass, the walk to the stadium and warm ups. Prior to the intros, it was mentioned that you’d run through the players after running into the stadium. I assumed this meant the first one or two out would start the line that we would all run through. What it really meant was ND players being out on the field, with Coach Freeman at the end, which was amazing. One of the ND staff ran out with me, and it all worked out fine.
After doing the coin toss (which Blue won) and the National Anthems (Canada, Mexico and US), the game started. While I had done both RB and DT position practices throughout the week, I primarily played as a DT. The coaches helped with calling plays in general, and with positioning when I was on the field, which helped immensely.
I believe the score was 19-7 Blue at half, and 19-13 Blue late in the 4th quarter. The game used a running clock outside of the last minute of each half, so it went by quickly. With under two minutes, the Blue team was driving and the defense had gotten them into a 4th and long with about 50 seconds left. The Blue Team decided to go for it, and if we’d held them, there may have been enough time for a score. But they converted it, and had a first down at about the 25.
It was at this point I heard my name being called from the field. At the time I went out onto the field, I assumed that the Blue team was running one final play and my team wanted to get me in on it from the defensive side. In reality, it was an amazing act of kindness and brotherhood. I’ll let the video and the podcast comments ([2] and [3]) speak for themselves.
One other piece that I want to pull out of the podcast is the story about Coach Freeman saying to one of the 4 guys that ‘we were his recruiting tool’. I didn’t know about this until I heard the podcast, and laughed the first time I heard it. But when I went back and thought about it, it made more sense — and reflected things that I’d seen from him and the entire staff the whole week. What I took away from the second listen was ‘look at the support you’ll have from the fans — these are guys that love the school and program so much that they’re giving up money and time to be here.’ And I believe that there’s a very valid point to that.
As I said before, we all live in a digital ‘train wreck’ world. If you as a recruited scholarship player miss a play, an assignment, a catch, etc., you’re going to hear about it from every asshat within 24 hours. IMO, being able to show that there’s a lot of support helps counter some of that negative BS that’s invariably going to occur.
After the game, I cleaned out my locker, making sure to have others double and triple check things for me. I walked out of the locker room carrying my helmet (which Freshman get to keep) and the ball I’d scored the TD with, and headed over the awards banquet. Before the end of the night, I had a 2nd ball (Boss Hogg award)!
I am extremely grateful to all of my ND brothers who helped me out throughout the week. The Judge helped out tremendously, and I know that there were several others. I am also extremely grateful to Coach Freeman and the entire ND football program (current and former players) for an amazing and special week.
(Photo courtesy of ND staff)
“The greatest resource is time and you can’t buy back the clock.” – Macklemore
Before I start into this blog, I just want to mention that this post will be a bit different. For years, I’ve gone into a lot of detail on everything related to that post. For this particular one, there are large parts that I’m not going to focus on. For the simple reason that I believe going through every single detail spoils the special aspect of this experience.
Also, there are several public items that I will reference:
[1] Mike Drosieko’s Day 1 Recap, Day 2 Recap and Game Day Recap. There should be one final video in the channel at some point soon (full wrap up).
[3] TD run — you’ll need to scroll down a few posts.
[4] Camp Information (this is now showing the 2024 version, but from memory the prior detailed 2023 one mirrored the compressed 2024 view).
To get a good overview of what went on in more detail, please take a look at [1] and [4]. The two combined, along with the below should give you a really good idea of what you’re in for if you can make camp work in 2024!
As I’ve mentioned in the past (and shared during camp), I first found the Notre Dame Football Fantasy Camp (NDFFC) in 2006. At that time, it was run by Global Football (Patrick Steenberge — who I learned during camp was a former ND player). At that time, it wasn’t feasible. 17 years later and multiple false starts, it finally all came together. And I’ll be honest that there was a portion of time in there that I feared my ‘borrowed time’ of vision would run out before I could attend at least once.
During that 17 year time span, conference realignments added an unexpected wrinkle to attending. So before I could share the news about being able to attend the 2023 NDFFC publicly, I had to talk with several people privately. It was out of respect and along the lines of ensuring that they weren’t blindsided when they saw the posts — or later on when they saw the changes during the season.
During the 2 months between when I registered and when camp unofficially began, I sent the information they requested, made sure the coaches knew about the vision issues (I learned the hard way that it’s best to tell them up front… rather than when they see me losing track of footballs in an indoor facility), and asked a lot of questions. The biggest fear during this whole time (and honestly until we walked in from practice #2) was running out of the tunnel and onto the field. I know that we all live in a digital world and people love ‘train wrecks’. So I was concerned about not seeing something as I ran out, tripping/falling, and creating a viral video for fans of Notre Dame’s rivals to use. Olivia was extremely helpful with information and assured me there would be someone to run out with me and ensure safety. That all helped immensely, and I was grateful for all of her help. 🙂 Mike was also extremely helpful with information to answer questions I had, which I really appreciated.
One of the requested pieces in late April or early May was a photo and bio for the camp media guide. I had no idea exactly what to write, but I know my draft made mention of the vision issues. What I saw in the final version didn’t mention any of that. At the time, I thought it was odd — later on, I think I realized why it was done that way. And in the end, I agree with the edit choices. 🙂 IMO, it was along the lines of ‘you may have a disability, but we’re viewing you as a camper/player first. We know about it, but the other pieces are what we’re going to focus on.’
They weren’t the only ones who had that view during the week. Another group was the cart people at the local golf course… As part of the unofficial start to camp, I joined one of the foursomes to spend time with guys. I was running late, so I had to get assistance from the cart staff getting out to the first hole where the last group was waiting to tee off. As there were 5 of us and only 2 carts, they kept wanting to give me a cart to drive. I tried to politely decline it; I tried pointing to the cane in my bag. However, neither of these worked. I had to go to ‘Is your liability insurance fully paid up’ before they finally got it and rearranged the carts so I could ride and drink beer while the others focused on golf. Even though I have some vision in bright daylight (my estimate has always been 50-60% of normal vision), it would not have been a good idea for anyone involved for me to be trying to drive a golf cart.
Camp started on Tuesday with a circuit between Equipment Fitting, Photo Shoot, time in the locker room and paperwork. While I’ve seen photos and videos over the years of other campers going to their locker during the first session, those didn’t compare to the experience of doing it myself. Day 1 also included the first practice (skills), a dinner with the current team and the Golden Standard piece that Mike mentions in his Day 1 video (see Chris Zorich reference).
Day 2 included two practices, team meetings and presentations from coaches. It also included installation of plays and the team draft. / captain vote
Before the final practice on day 3, they revealed the team captains. I was honored to be chosen as one of the team captains for the Gold team! Pre-game also included a meal, a couple of talks from Coach Freeman, Mass, the walk to the stadium and warm ups. Prior to the intros, it was mentioned that you’d run through the players after running into the stadium. I assumed this meant the first one or two out would start the line that we would all run through. What it really meant was ND players being out on the field, with Coach Freeman at the end, which was amazing. One of the ND staff ran out with me, and it all worked out fine.
After doing the coin toss (which Blue won) and the National Anthems (Canada, Mexico and US), the game started. While I had done both RB and DT position practices throughout the week, I primarily played as a DT. The coaches helped with calling plays in general, and with positioning when I was on the field, which helped immensely.
I believe the score was 19-7 Blue at half, and 19-13 Blue late in the 4th quarter. The game used a running clock outside of the last minute of each half, so it went by quickly. With under two minutes, the Blue team was driving and the defense had gotten them into a 4th and long with about 50 seconds left. The Blue Team decided to go for it, and if we’d held them, there may have been enough time for a score. But they converted it, and had a first down at about the 25.
It was at this point I heard my name being called from the field. At the time I went out onto the field, I assumed that the Blue team was running one final play and my team wanted to get me in on it from the defensive side. In reality, it was an amazing act of kindness and brotherhood. I’ll let the video and the podcast comments ([2] and [3]) speak for themselves.
One other piece that I want to pull out of the podcast is the story about Coach Freeman saying to one of the 4 guys that ‘we were his recruiting tool’. I didn’t know about this until I heard the podcast, and laughed the first time I heard it. But when I went back and thought about it, it made more sense — and reflected things that I’d seen from him and the entire staff the whole week. What I took away from the second listen was ‘look at the support you’ll have from the fans — these are guys that love the school and program so much that they’re giving up money and time to be here.’ And I believe that there’s a very valid point to that.
As I said before, we all live in a digital ‘train wreck’ world. If you as a recruited scholarship player miss a play, an assignment, a catch, etc., you’re going to hear about it from every asshat within 24 hours. IMO, being able to show that there’s a lot of support helps counter some of that negative BS that’s invariably going to occur.
After the game, I cleaned out my locker, making sure to have others double and triple check things for me. I walked out of the locker room carrying my helmet (which Freshman get to keep) and the ball I’d scored the TD with, and headed over the awards banquet. Before the end of the night, I had a 2nd ball (Boss Hogg award)!
I am extremely grateful to all of my ND brothers who helped me out throughout the week. The Judge helped out tremendously, and I know that there were several others. I am also extremely grateful to Coach Freeman and the entire ND football program (current and former players) for an amazing and special week.
Registration is open for 2024. Just remember, this one week in the sun makes up for months of having to eat raumen to make it work.
I am extremely grateful to Catapult for their continued support of my athletic endeavors! Their support enables me to work with an individual swim coach, which I know has helped over the years.
Earlier this year, I worked with Ryan in the Columbus area. I’m looking forward to doing that again later this year, along with trying to find another local coach.
