Boston College Athletics
We All Need Somebody To Lean On
August 10, 2022 | Football, #ForBoston Files
Helping the young guys out is part of paying it forward for BC's group of veteran leaders.
I still remember the first time I got lost in college.
It was the first week of classes - Syllabus Week - and I had a Tuesday afternoon science class on the history of business in textiles. I had no idea where the building was, but I trusted my sense of direction to find a building called "Group Three." It was, I figured, between Group One and Group Two, which were on opposite ends of our academic quad, so after getting lunch, I set out for the building with the confidence of someone less than a year removed from ruling high school.
An hour later, I was 25 minutes late to class because I couldn't find the building and was too proud to ask for directions.Â
Over the years, I learned I was far from the only one who experienced that issue, so I smiled this past weekend when Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley talked about watching the true freshmen looking around with what I assume was the same panicked look from my face 20 years ago.
"We had some true freshmen who were here in the spring," Hafley said, "and they kind of knew the routine. But then [I] watched and the true freshmen, you forget that they don't even know where to go when the whistle blows. They're kind of looking up [confused], and you tell them where to go. They put their helmets on, but their anxiety's there."
Assimilating freshmen into a program is one of the more unique challenges of the first days of camp, a time when more focus is spent on who is playing with what energy. Those first drills are really the first time anyone watches a football team as it prepares for the upcoming season, and there's a bit of urgency to digest which players are practicing with which unit or team. For a few days, at least, attention gravitates towards the veterans and the starters, most of which have spent multiple years learning the tendencies of the coach and his staff.
The freshmen don't have that luxury. Only a few select players matriculate early by graduating high school in the winter, and the large bulk don't arrive until camp opens in the fall. They've worked out on their own, but they haven't gone through the wash-lather-repeat cycle of training provided by a strength and conditioning unit. They don't know the playcalls or signals, and the concept of all-day ball with practice, film, meetings and bed checks is still foreign when compared to the more-limited high school experience.
"Coming straight from high school is different," said defensive back Jason Maitre. "Getting to campus, it's football all day, and it's definitely different. I just tell them to get a routine and stick to that routine, and just don't get down on yourself because it's hard. If you get up and stick to your routine every day, you can get the best out of going hard. Everything's not going to be perfect, but if you go out there and go hard and attack meetings, attack practice? You can make bigger plays."
Upperclass players like Maitre play a huge role in reinforcing those values. Former veterans all played a role in helping them blend into the program, and the connections forged are some of the critical links to leaving BC in a better place than when it arrived. They remember vividly how their mentors explained where to go for a meal or class, or when to report for practice, and they are still appreciative of what that meant to their careers. For this group, that included shepherding through a coaching change, a pandemic, a return to campus, and all of the strangeness of the last four years.
"I know, at first, I had older guys that helped me," explained wide receiver Zay Flowers, who credited his help to former BC receiver Kobay White. "So whatever the younger guys need, [we] are there every time, no matter if we're out running or going over the playbook or watching film. If we're coming out here later in the day to work, whatever they need, we give it to them."
"I'll do my best [to help] because I was in that same position," agreed fellow wideout Jaelen Gill. "It feels like it was just yesterday, so I think about that and reflect about how I was, and I try to give them my best advice to bring them along as much as possible. It's not easy, especially coming from high school to getting right into camp for a few weeks. So I'll try to do my best to keep on [pace] and try to make sure they know what they're doing, talk to them as much as I can to help them out."
One month separates the Eagles from their first game against Rutgers, and the sense of urgency is expected to increase as training camp lurches into its first full week. The complexity of the installation is going to increase, and muscle memory will round into form as August dwindles into its third or fourth week. Time will feel short, and patience with everyone might start to transition from practice to preparation.
Those days, though, are still a couple of weeks away, so there's time now to reinforce patience and practicality with newcomers. The explanations now are crucial and set the table for a pace expected to accelerate once BC returns to full pads, and it will further build the chemistry between the old players and their younger counterparts, many of whom will develop into the next group of future leaders for the next group of recruits who will fill their shoes in a few short years.
"I was a mid-year guy so I came straight out of high school," fifth-year linebacker Vinny DePalma said. "I remember my first spring practice that was in Alumni Stadium in the Bubble. My friends and I have gone back and watched that film a couple of times, and I laugh at myself. Everyone has a little bit of a deer in the headlights look, and very rarely do you see a guy that comes out and gets it on day one."
"It's hard to judge the true freshmen in the first few practices," Hafley said. "Just think about all the emotions that they don't really know what they're doing. But I tell the staff to keep putting them [into situations], and don't judge them. Don't ever judge a rookie. Just look at the first days as being good to have them out there."
It was the first week of classes - Syllabus Week - and I had a Tuesday afternoon science class on the history of business in textiles. I had no idea where the building was, but I trusted my sense of direction to find a building called "Group Three." It was, I figured, between Group One and Group Two, which were on opposite ends of our academic quad, so after getting lunch, I set out for the building with the confidence of someone less than a year removed from ruling high school.
An hour later, I was 25 minutes late to class because I couldn't find the building and was too proud to ask for directions.Â
Over the years, I learned I was far from the only one who experienced that issue, so I smiled this past weekend when Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley talked about watching the true freshmen looking around with what I assume was the same panicked look from my face 20 years ago.
"We had some true freshmen who were here in the spring," Hafley said, "and they kind of knew the routine. But then [I] watched and the true freshmen, you forget that they don't even know where to go when the whistle blows. They're kind of looking up [confused], and you tell them where to go. They put their helmets on, but their anxiety's there."
Assimilating freshmen into a program is one of the more unique challenges of the first days of camp, a time when more focus is spent on who is playing with what energy. Those first drills are really the first time anyone watches a football team as it prepares for the upcoming season, and there's a bit of urgency to digest which players are practicing with which unit or team. For a few days, at least, attention gravitates towards the veterans and the starters, most of which have spent multiple years learning the tendencies of the coach and his staff.
The freshmen don't have that luxury. Only a few select players matriculate early by graduating high school in the winter, and the large bulk don't arrive until camp opens in the fall. They've worked out on their own, but they haven't gone through the wash-lather-repeat cycle of training provided by a strength and conditioning unit. They don't know the playcalls or signals, and the concept of all-day ball with practice, film, meetings and bed checks is still foreign when compared to the more-limited high school experience.
"Coming straight from high school is different," said defensive back Jason Maitre. "Getting to campus, it's football all day, and it's definitely different. I just tell them to get a routine and stick to that routine, and just don't get down on yourself because it's hard. If you get up and stick to your routine every day, you can get the best out of going hard. Everything's not going to be perfect, but if you go out there and go hard and attack meetings, attack practice? You can make bigger plays."
Upperclass players like Maitre play a huge role in reinforcing those values. Former veterans all played a role in helping them blend into the program, and the connections forged are some of the critical links to leaving BC in a better place than when it arrived. They remember vividly how their mentors explained where to go for a meal or class, or when to report for practice, and they are still appreciative of what that meant to their careers. For this group, that included shepherding through a coaching change, a pandemic, a return to campus, and all of the strangeness of the last four years.
"I know, at first, I had older guys that helped me," explained wide receiver Zay Flowers, who credited his help to former BC receiver Kobay White. "So whatever the younger guys need, [we] are there every time, no matter if we're out running or going over the playbook or watching film. If we're coming out here later in the day to work, whatever they need, we give it to them."
"I'll do my best [to help] because I was in that same position," agreed fellow wideout Jaelen Gill. "It feels like it was just yesterday, so I think about that and reflect about how I was, and I try to give them my best advice to bring them along as much as possible. It's not easy, especially coming from high school to getting right into camp for a few weeks. So I'll try to do my best to keep on [pace] and try to make sure they know what they're doing, talk to them as much as I can to help them out."
One month separates the Eagles from their first game against Rutgers, and the sense of urgency is expected to increase as training camp lurches into its first full week. The complexity of the installation is going to increase, and muscle memory will round into form as August dwindles into its third or fourth week. Time will feel short, and patience with everyone might start to transition from practice to preparation.
Those days, though, are still a couple of weeks away, so there's time now to reinforce patience and practicality with newcomers. The explanations now are crucial and set the table for a pace expected to accelerate once BC returns to full pads, and it will further build the chemistry between the old players and their younger counterparts, many of whom will develop into the next group of future leaders for the next group of recruits who will fill their shoes in a few short years.
"I was a mid-year guy so I came straight out of high school," fifth-year linebacker Vinny DePalma said. "I remember my first spring practice that was in Alumni Stadium in the Bubble. My friends and I have gone back and watched that film a couple of times, and I laugh at myself. Everyone has a little bit of a deer in the headlights look, and very rarely do you see a guy that comes out and gets it on day one."
"It's hard to judge the true freshmen in the first few practices," Hafley said. "Just think about all the emotions that they don't really know what they're doing. But I tell the staff to keep putting them [into situations], and don't judge them. Don't ever judge a rookie. Just look at the first days as being good to have them out there."
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