Boston College Athletics
Sunday Practice is a Hit
August 10, 2003 | Football
Aug. 10, 2003
On a semi-sunny, steamy and sticky Sunday afternoon, the Boston College football team took to the Alumni Stadium turf with a new look - full pads for the first time of the young practice season. In following the new practice schedule mandated this year by the NCAA, the Eagles completed just their fifth workout in five days, quite an adjustment for veteran players accustomed to a demanding two-a-day schedule early in camp.
"It's kind of tough to get through mentally, because you look down the road and there's 17 days left instead of eight," senior co-captain Josh Ott says. "We've finished five practices and it feels like we're done with camp, but we're just now putting the pads on."
Beyond the mental aspect, however, Ott sees benefits in the new regimen. "It's tougher mentally, but it's better on our bodies," he says. "I'm still gaining weight and still getting stronger. We've had time to work out more. There's a lot of room for growth and more time to get things done."
With the grass practice fields freshly muddied from Saturday rains, Ott and his Eagle teammates once again practiced in the stadium. Monday brings the return of the familiar two-a-day routine, followed by a single-session day on Tuesday as per the NCAA requirement that double-session days be followed by a single-session day.
As the team nears the end of week one of preseason camp, Ott likes what he has seen.
"I think practice has gone really well," he says. "We've had a lot of people step up that we thought were going to step up, and we've got young guys filling in roles where we need them. Speaking for the defense, we're excited right now. I think we can win a lot of games."
Sunday afternoon, though, Ott had one thing on his mind. "I'm ready," he said, "to go out there and hit."
