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Spokane Shock: Getting Ready For Some Football |
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Written by Shawn & Lori Mosqueda
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Thursday, 16 March 2006 |
Shawn's Take: In the first week of training camp, the Spokane Shock has a roster of 31 players, several of which are veterans. Most of the
rookies come from the regular outdoor football game and are not
familiar with the indoor arena-sized field or the fast pace of the
game, not to mention having to play both offense and defense.
At times throughout the practice, players who otherwise are highly
regarded in the outdoor game looked like fish out of water. In the
outdoor game,
wide receivers run their routes differently than they do
in Arena Football because the fields are a different size. This is one
of the major adjustments the rookies will need to overcome.
Another obstacle the rookies will need to overcome is the fact that
they play both sides of the ball. Most of these guys have not played
offense and defense in the same game since high school. This is a new
experience for them. WR/DB Charles Frederick (E.T.) expressed, "This
will be my first time playing defense. I played a little (defense) in
high school. I am familiar with it, but I am a little rusty."
We also talked with WR/DB Billy Newman who said, "I have never played
wide receiver before, so it will be a challenge. I have covered enough
of them, watched film of them. I think I will be alright."
Conditioning is crucial in Arena Football. When asked about his team's
conditioning after the first practice, head coach Chris Siegfried said,
"I think we are over and above other teams as far as conditioning at
this point in time. My goal is to be one of the best conditioned teams
in the league. We are not going to drop games because of our
conditioning"
Over all, the players were having a great time during practice and seem
to be building a good chemistry. I think they'll be ready to shake down
the Stockton Lightening in the 2006 season opener on March 30th in the Spokane Arena.
Lori's Take: Like many other Arena Football League 2 teams,
today was the first day of training camp for the Spokane Shock.
Although the players showed lots of energy and talent, the Shock kicked
off training camp with a rough and intense practice.
Head coach Chris Siegfried summed up today's practice by saying, "We've
got a long way to go. The first day is never as good as you think it is
going to be and never really as bad as you anticipated."
However, head coach Siegfried did go on to say, "There were some good
things that happened today. The effort was great and the intensity was
very good."
I witnessed the intensity first hand and found myself quite caught up
in the moment. If the players are able to pull me into the game during
practice, I can only imagine how exciting a regular season game is
going to be!
I was initially surprised to see the number of players new to Arena
Football on the Spokane Shock roster. They definitely have some hurdles
to overcome as they adjust to the differences between outdoor and arena
football. However, with their natural talent and Arena Football
veterans such as Johnny Lamar, Rob Keefe, Chris DiSanto, Jerome
Stevens, Brian Zbydniewski, Anthony Griffin, Nian Taylor, and Tavirus
Davis to learn from, I am sure those hurdles are not insurmountable.
The fans in Spokane are about to witness some pretty "electrifying"
football.
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