FB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[formerd3db]

Well, BOYA87, I do get those urges at times, particularly for wanting to put a "hit on someone", especially when being on the sidelines at a game on Saturdays!  Actually, I have gone out there on a couple of occasions for a lacrosse practice in the recent past and "held my own", believe it or not. , although I obviously could not keep up with you in a sustained session, since you are still a young guy!  Also, in response to the other aspect mentioned by Raider68.  Back in my day at Hope, right after physicals, we had to a) do our bench press and vertical high jump then b) run our 40 yard dash time and then finally c) run the 880 yard run.  Regarding the latter, linemen had to do it under 2:45 and backs/ends/all others had to do it under 2:25.  Now the latter is obviously very slow for you track guys, however, I remember some crazy stories with that.  My senior year I benched 350 lbs (I was the strongest player "man for man" on the team that year I was told), although I don't remember what my vertical jump was; I ran a 4.6 in my 40 yard dash (not bad at that time for a db, but would be very slow today - although my brother back then in college ran a 4.45 and 4.50 - he was 10 times the athlete I was) and I also did the 880 in 2:06, which was also not bad for me I guess? .  I was very proud of that at the time as I had worked my tail off during the summer in my workouts and was in the best shape that I've ever been in my entire life that year!

sfflzman: The Alma new turf is of the same design as Illinois Wesleyan's new turf which was just installed a couple of weeks ago also i.e. they have alternating different green colors every five yards.  I guess that is the "new trend" design currently!  It does look great, however.  Still, wouldn't it have been "a gas" to have had the field be maroon?!

[BOYA87]

Trine also has what we call "The Run Test" on the first day of camp!  It is usually something of a brutal nature, like anywhere from 15-20 110 yd sprints with specialty players needing to make each one under 15 or 16 sec.  I can remember for sure remember which.

This is a brutal shock to the body at the beginning of camp but being a DIII athlete it is so important to push yourself to accomplish the workouts in the summer and this is a great way of weeding through those athletes.  If you didnt make the times then you were required to get up at 6 AM before the first 2-a-day practices and do extra conditionings until you passed those new conditioning tests.

I was never a fast receiver, my fastest 40 was a 4.7, but I always prided myself on being the best conditioned player on the field.  I think that really shown through for me in my Jr season when in our 10 game season I sat out only 23 offensive plays.

I think its good for these boys to get a little whippin at the beginning of camp!  Its definitely a good motivator for teh summer workouts!

[Raider 68]

Trine also has what we call "The Run Test" on the first day of camp!  It is usually something of a brutal nature, like anywhere from 15-20 110 yd sprints with specialty players needing to make each one under 15 or 16 sec.  I can remember for sure remember which.

This is a brutal shock to the body at the beginning of camp but being a DIII athlete it is so important to push yourself to accomplish the workouts in the summer and this is a great way of weeding through those athletes.  If you didnt make the times then you were required to get up at 6 AM before the first 2-a-day practices and do extra conditionings until you passed those new conditioning tests.

I was never a fast receiver, my fastest 40 was a 4.7, but I always prided myself on being the best conditioned player on the field.  I think that really shown through for me in my Jr season when in our 10 game season I sat out only 23 offensive plays.

I think its good for these boys to get a little whippin at the beginning of camp!  Its definitely a good motivator for teh summer workouts!

It would be interesting to compare summer camp drills for D1, D2 and D3? They may be more similiar than we may think!

[D306]

Summer Camps and testing is more related to the coaching staff and the direction of University.

I know several HS programs that have very serious testing and "requirements" to earn playing time.
There are HS teams that have outstanding weight training and conditioning requirements.
These schools always perform well each year, the talent at schools change every year the conditioning can equalize the lack of sheer athletic talent.

teams that commit to condition and weight training are closer and more dedicated to each other and the game. These athletes are will put more heart and pride in their teams performance

Looking forward to a new year, looks like the league will be a little tighter this year.

[sflzman]

This is totally off topic, but anybody watching the ESPY's? That story for the Arthur Ashe award winner was amazing!

[sac]

Albion's field looks done for the most part.  Today (or at least while I tuned in), it looks like they're laying the rubber pieces into the "grass".

Mildly entertaining even.

[sflzman]

It looks too full of rubber from the 50 to 40 on the right side of the screen....

[sac]

It looks too full of rubber from the 50 to 40 on the right side of the screen....

When I checked in I saw 3 machines.......one laying the rubber, another that looked like some sort of rolling machine, and a third that looked like a vacuum of some kind.

All the work was being done on the left side, so perhaps they're just done for the day.

[sflzman]

Oh btw the whole thing was done here today bc cheerleading starts on it tomorrow morning. Should be able to get some pics tomorrow morn for u guys

[Raider 68]

Oh btw the whole thing was done here today bc cheerleading starts on it tomorrow morning. Should be able to get some pics tomorrow morn for u guys

sflzman,

Any info on the turf's cost. Normally it is close to $1M, depending on the prep work?

[sflzman]

http://www.alma.edu/athletics/football/gallery/?img=DSC_0311.jpg&path=/July_14_2011

Here's new pictures, but these were taken earlier in the day ysterday O believe because the "A" in the center isn't in, and the "ALMA" towards the sideline across the 40-45, 45-50, 50-45, and 45-40 (a letter in each area of colored turf)

And about the cost, I don't know exactly but I may be able to find out....

Also here is a pic of the design for the scoreboard/videoboard that is going to be on the field:

http://i1081.photobucket.com/albums/j344/sflzman/scoreboard.jpg

[formerd3db]

sac, sflzman and Raider:

Thanks for keeping us updated on the field installations at both "A"s and the cost info, you guys. That is exciting and, wow, the electronic scoreboard at Alma looks fantastic.

As far as the cost, it just goes to show you how that has increased in recent years, just like everything else.  When the new style turf first came out back around 1999, the cost of the turf itself was about 1/2 M dollars (i.e. about $550,000 as compared to the old style turf which cost anywhere from $800,000 and above).  At that time, in addition to the better safety aspects of the new turf, it obviously made it much more affordable for schools.  The "problem" was that most of the small colleges couldn't just "have the new turf put in" as they had to either renovate/update or entirely redo their stadiums and, in many cases, build entire new stadiums and associated facitities for those.  That obviously increased the cost so that it was upwards of $2 M to do at the very least.

Yet, today, for a school like Alma in just replacing their old "new style" turf, it is basically the cost of the turf plus the labor.  However, as I mentioned, you can see that the turf alone now has essentially doubled in cost over the past decade plus, just like everything else in the world for products and services.  Anyway, these new fields look great.  Again, I hate to say it (and we've all discussed this before), when Kazoo gets their field in, unfortunately it will be Hope that will be left "at the bottom of the barrel" as far as football stadiums.  Assuming, of course, that Kazoo gets theirs in before Hope, which is a distinct possibility, even though "we all know how Kazoo does things" on their own time

I hope you all have a great weekend.  The summer is going by all too quickly.  Even though I've had  chance to get away for some vacation, I feel like "I'm spinning my wheels" in regards to enjoying the summer even more - always too much other things that must be done (like the job) and always seeming like there is just not enough hours in the day/days in the week.   Oh well, such is life.  Anyway, all the best to you all.

[sflzman]

I guess the field dedline was pushed back to today, so the center a, the ALMA in the green in midfield, and the endzone script are all still to be done....

[Flying Dutchman56]

Hope's 2011 pre-seaon outlook from their website:

The Flying Dutchmen approach the season faced with a schedule identical to the 2010 campaign. The 102nd year of Hope football will find coach Dean Kreps' Flying Dutchmen trying to shake off the affects of three consecutive 3-7 campaigns.

The pre-season roster includes 39 players returning from the 2010 squad. The strength of the team would appear to be its defense which could return as many as nine starters from a unit that allowed only nine rushing touchdowns over 10 games, among the best in NCAA Division III. The offense faces a major rebuilding job with the return of just two starters.

The co-captains of the team will be senior Josh Droppers of Portage (Portage Northern HS), junior Brian Lynn of Holland (Holland HS), Ben Van Ausdall of Hudsonville (Unity Christian HS), and Kyle Warren of Grandville (Unity Christian HS). Droppers and Warren are two-time All-MIAA first team honorees, Droppers at offensive tackle and Warren at defensive back.

Droppers and senior guard Alex Doman of Royal Oak (Brother Rice) are the only returning offensive starters. Among the returning players who saw considerable action last season is sophomore tailback Shawn Jackson of Granger, Ind. (Camden Frontier HS) who in five games as a freshman rushed for 397 yards on 81 carries, a team-best 4.9 yards per carry average. His accomplishments included a 93-yard touchdown run, second longest in school history.

Bringing experience to the defense are five players who have lettered for three seasons – back Dan Karam of Grosse Pointe Woods (Warren DeLaSalle HS), end Jared Kimber of Bedford, Ohio (Bedford HS), end Jordan Morse of Sparta (Sparta HS), back Chris Schmelz of Chelsea (Chelsea HS), and back Kyle Warren. Morse, who is a fifth-year senior, was named to the All-MIAA second team in 2010. He led the team in quarterback sacks (5.5) and tackles for a loss (12.5). Warren has been in the starting lineup since his freshman year while Karam, Morse and senior back Marcus Bradstreet of Grandville (Grandville HS) have been starters the past two seasons.

The Flying Dutchmen return experienced special teams players. Sophomore punter Aaron Thompson of Imlay City (Imlay City HS) was named to the All-MIAA second team as a freshman. Twice during the 2010 season he was named the MIAA's special teams player of the week. He averaged 37.2 yards per punt, had none blocked in 63 attempts and had four punts go over 50 yards, including one covering 70 yards. Placekicker Evan Finch of Ann Arbor (Pioneer HS) was a perfect 16-for-16 on PATs and made 2-of-3 field goals. Chris Schmelz was among the NCAA Division III punt return leaders ranking 20th nationally with an average of 12.7 yards on 17 returns.

The Flying Dutchmen, who will be seeking their first non-league victory since the 2004 season-opener, open on the road at Illinois Wesleyan on Saturday, Sept. 3. The home opener will be the traditional Community Day game against Wisconsin Lutheran on Saturday, Sept. 10. A season highlight will be a night home game against longtime MIAA rival Kalamazoo on Saturday, Oct. 8. Homecoming will be a week later with the Albion Britons coming to town.

[ThunderHead]

Hey there, hope everyone is having a great summer.

Someone wondered the difference between D1 conditioning and D3 conditioning (testing).

Most D1 programs I've been associated with run 100's in sets, with the time designated for completion growing by a second or two every other rep.  They also make full use of their stadium stairs, and as you know, at most D1 programs, the stadium stairs are no small matter. These tests are run almost daily during two-a-days, and during periods like right now. They lessen during the season, but occasionally show up if the staff feels they need to "re-commit" their athletes.

Everything done testing wise is generally timed or "on the clock by position", and the advantage you have at the D1 level is there is a dedicated coaching staffs that is only concerned about the "strength and conditioning" of the players. While many D3 programs have a coach who handles that area, D1 programs have more then a few guys who worry nothing about football (X and O) and everything about a kids speed, stamina, and strength along with his weight. That makes a big difference in how programs are designed, and how practice time is planned and used.

D3 programs also have such large numbers, that conditioning can be used to weed people out, and while that is true to an extent at the D1 level, most coaches have done away with their "black fridays" (ala Urban Meyer), and typically only get drastic with workouts when the staff is new to the program and a program attitude needs to be re-established.

I would also add, that it's my experience D1 athletes as a whole are a different beast then D3 counterparts. While there are some fine athletes at the D3 level, pound for pound, most of the kids on D1 programs are held to a much higher standard (time wise) as athletes, and with cause, as the bar can be set higher and a majority can make it under their designated time with maximum effort. Place D1 drill times at some (not all) D3 programs, and 70% of the team wouldn't make the cut.

It's not a matter of "lowing standards" per say, as much as it is adjusting your standards to fit your athletes and get the most out of them where they're at.

Anyway - just my experience and two cents when it comes to the difference in conditioning programs. Overall the goal is to push a guy to be the best he can be, if you've got guy who can breeze through his mile at 6:30 mark, in my book, his time needs to be adjusted to push his personal pace. Again though, that's the advantage a D1 program has, with a dedicated staff, each player is reviewed constantly by a staff not worried about "football game prep" regarding the athletes overall ability and how it can be improved in regards to strength and conditioning.

Go Trine!!!