Welcome to training camp, it’s official; the adventure that is the NFL season has begun. Scores of players from all around the world will travel to the facility to compete for a spot on the 53-man roster. Most of them have had dreams of doing so since they were young and have worked hard just to get onto the practice field. It’s been nothing short of an adventure, the long hours in the gym, the scorching hot full padded practices, draft day, and now training camp.
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The training camp event is an extreme adventure. You have over one hundred of the biggest, hungriest men all competing for a job. This is more than about just making some football team, this is their occupation, and this is how they make money. Dreams will flourish and die on that practice field, even receiving a job as a backup is an honor. However, you have to maintain your hard work for there is always somebody behind you trying to take your place.
Training camp is no joke. The heat is suffocating and the addition of football pads, a helmet, and football pants is hot and heavy. Players will sweat out pounds of water as they’re put to the test. It starts with conditioning; lets weed out the weak and find out who put in the most work over the offseason. Coaches will run each player into the ground with sprints and distance. The next step is the agility drills, tip toeing through ladders and showing their burst. Finally, it’s time to hit. The coaches shout “Oklahoma!” as the rookies rush to set up the cones. It’s a 1 on 1 drill that puts offense vs. defense. The goal of the runner is to get the ball into the endzone, the goal of the defender is to stop them at all costs. The head to head collisions and the sounds of the pads popping is intense as each player runs into each other like two freight trains colliding. It’s the only way to get noticed around there, surrounded by so much talent. The coaches want a player who’s willing to give an arm and a leg for the team, those who are most committed will receive high honors.
Fans live for NFL Sunday, the full team does their best to put on a show and take another step towards bringing home that Lombardi trophy. However, few recognize the pain, the diligence, and the work that goes on behind the scenes. It all starts at training camp, that’s where teams are built, those who show up ready to play, may get to adventure to the field one day.
Photo courtesy of nflmocks.com
