Aug. 11, 2006
BELLINGHAM, Wash. -
JOE SUNNEN, THE BELLINGHAM HERALD
Dripping with sweat, his gray shirt soaked a shade of gunmetal, Western Washington University junior Shane Simmons jogged to the sidelines, optimistic after conditioning drills.
"I'm glad that's over," Simmons said. "But I'm ready to get this season started."
It must be time for training camp at WWU.
Western opened the 2006 season on Thursday, its first under new head coach Robin Ross. The Vikings ran through a fast-paced and spirited practice, mixing snippets of good things to come with a few things better left forgotten.
"I think we got a lot done for only being in helmets and shorts," Ross said. "We were rusty in a lot of things, but it went pretty well."
Coupled with the usual excitement that comes with the start of camp is the sense of a new beginning for Western. The Vikings have a new coach, a new conference - the North Central Conference - and new blue helmets.
"It's definitely like having a fresh start," Simmons said. "It's an exciting time. And the thing is, this team gets along well and really meshes together. That's what it's all about."
The Vikings will use the next two weeks to build on that feeling. Along with practice, seminars, meetings and time in the dorms will dominate most of their lives.
"These first couple weeks we'll try to have some team building activities," Ross said. "You can't grind the guys the way you used to. We'll have some meetings that kind of teach them what it's like to be here in Bellingham. We're trying to give our players the full spectrum of things they need to know."
While some things have changed under Ross, others have stayed the same. Just as in years past the Vikings ran the "Grinder" after practice on Thursday to test the players' conditioning. Each player had to complete 75 sit-ups, 100 bag jumps, a 100-yard bear crawl and a mile run in an allotted amount of time, usually about 15 minutes.
"I wouldn't get rid of that," Ross said. "That's a good one. It really lets you know what kind of conditioning these guys were doing during the summer."
