WOODCOCK MJMC 251 Audio Story #3

The Augustana Vikings recently finished their two-month-long spring ball season, with the main goal of getting everyone on the same page before the next season. The team focused on skill development and learning the offense and defense. They were limited in wearing pads during practices but made up for it in the weight room. The players lifted together before practice to prepare their bodies for the field. Sophomore Ben Ludlum emphasized the importance of weight training in improving his performance. Spring ball is a period for players to grow their skills and understand the game better. The coach believes the team is ready for the upcoming season. That's the sound of the Augustana Vikings getting ready to tackle the field. Last week, the Augustana football team wrapped up its two-month-long spring ball season. Beginning in April, the team practiced three times a week, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, with a total of 16 spring practices. Head coach Stephen Bell says the main goal of spring ball is to get everybody on the same page before going into next season. You know, we come in August 13th, and we want to hit the ground running. We're going to add 40-plus freshmen into the mix, so we're going to add 40 people that have no clue how we do things. We don't need our upperclassmen in that same boat. Throughout the spring season, Bell says, the Vikings primarily focus on skill development. During practice, the players meet with their particular position coaches to familiarize themselves with their position and drills. A huge part of spring football is just the learning process for our offense and defense of guys. Unfortunately, we're not able to get into pads very often. According to Bell, the National Collegiate Athletics Association, also known as the NCAA, only allows Division III football to wear pads for 14 out of 16 practices. Bell says, while this does limit the team's overall spring potential, they make up for it in the weight room. Although spring ball did not kick off until April, the Augustana football team has been putting in the work in the weight room since January. Sophomore Ben Ludlum is a running back for Augustana and says, during spring ball, the team lifts together before practice. Most of them are full-body workouts, so it's legs, upper body to get us prepared, which has helped a lot with just loosening up my body after the off-season, where it's more just lifting. Getting out on the field and doing a lot of those plyometrics and actual workouts gets me ready to be back on the field. Ludlum says weight training helps him further his potential on the field. The running back says, this year, he is trying to become, quote, more of a natural player. Knowing what's going to happen before it actually happens, so it's like a lot of repetition of the same plays and reading my reads and kind of just getting a feel for the defense and how they align and what's going to happen. According to both Bell and Ludlum, spring ball is a period designated for players to grow on their foundational position skills and truly understand the game of football. Bell says, as a coach, it is important to ensure players with the proper tools. We always use the terminology, our job as coaches is to put tools in your tool belt, and it's about knowing when to pull those tools out at that moment, and it takes a lot of repetition to be able to get to that point where you can understand what tool to pull out at that time. Bell says he is excited for the upcoming season and believes that this team can tackle anything. Applause O-M-U-G-I-E On! On! On! Cheering