Spring Football Season Begins

Spring football is in full swing and our team is looking great! The defense is adjusting nicely to a new scheme, the offense is perfecting and building on what they already have in place and new faces are starting to make themselves known. Personally, after surgery and learning a new position, my efforts have been geared towards learning the offense and understanding what coverage the defense is giving us. I have finally been cleared to catch and I owe that to our physical therapist, Brant, who has worked with me ever since my surgery. Anyways, the Africa trip is coming like a freight train and players are doing everything we can to prepare properly. Although it is not very fashionable, we have been wearing hiking boots all around campus in order to break in our hiking boots. This is actually a great strategy because our campus is not big enough to drive everywhere so we do a lot of walking. We are all also still gathering gear for the trip. You don't realize how much equipment you need until you actually sit down and make a list of it all for every possible situation. We need warm weather gear, cold weather gear and rain gear. What other trip would you need sun screen, a hat for shade and a 0 degree sleeping bag and two pairs of gloves? This is going to be an amazing opportunity. Something we haven't really addressed or maybe thought about very much that we will be meeting the team from Mexico that we just played days before when we reach the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. Anyways, we will continue to prepare for this trip but will stay focused on spring ball and not lose sight of our main goal which is another Pioneer Football League Championship! Thanks for reading again and as always, GO BULLDOGS!

Jim Nelson, #13

Jim Nelson
Drake University
Marketing and Entrepreneurial Management
Drake Football
Pi Kappa Alpha



To say that the first week of spring football has been crazy for me would be putting it rather mildly. I have made the move from defensive tackle to linebacker and it has been quite the adventure: with a new coach, a new system, and a whole lot of new things to screw up. Showing up to the first spring practice on Wednesday I fully expected to be lining up in the same place I had been for the past 3 years and run the few plays I had learned in the new system against the same offensive line I had played scout team for in the previous season. But 20 minutes before practice started I became a linebacker. And I went out to the first practice with nothing but enthusiasm, with my head spinning with words I had never heard, trying to piece together anything I could to make sense of 20 minutes worth of learning. Today, a week superseded from the shift and I am not sure if everything is going smoothly but I am making progress. It helps to have the experience and leadership of the people in my position group, although we are a very young linebacking core. But I cannot say that I have enjoyed my springballs up to this point more, I just can’t wait till I can get past the mental spin and move into the “just play it” mode but I can feel that it is only right around the corner for all of us. As the group learns a little more each day we get further and further up our metaphorical mountain that we have pinned to our bulliten board in the locker room. Each step we take, each meeting we have is inching up closer and closer to the summit-that is all of our dreams, and vision for this team. We set our sights and goals high and the excitement in this group of young men is building into something special and the momentum is carrying us right through to and past the point where are legs feel heavy and hurt. When the weather is biting and fierce. This moved us into the classroom for our all football team class on leadership and emotional intelligence. Where we were given a photographic tour of our mountain, and discussed how we are going to develop and change to become the best group of leaders and the best team we can be by what we have set our goals on this trip and season. We are flying through this semester and our trip, that at one time felt so distant is now only a couple short months away.



Eugene “EJ” Walter 97



Spring ball has started off well with high intensity and lots of learning. This will be my last spring ball experience as a player, so I'm not going to let practices slip away and am going to enjoy the moment. The defense has been learning a new defense, and is picking it up quickly. It is always a challenge to learn a new system, and the defensive upperclass men have done well leading the under class men. The offense is trying to perfect our system, and the freshmen our improving everyday. The atmosphere has been upbeat. Last Sunday we were fortunate to have Dr.Clubb come talk to all the players. He talked about his climbing experience on Mt. Kilimanjaro, and provided us with a lot of information. It was good to hear from someone about climbing gear, climbing experience, and how your body feels. I'm getting so excited for our trip to Africa, and am so blessed to be able to go on this trip. I think this will be a life changing experience.

Thanks for reading
Pat Cashmore #30

Test Week: Success and Failure

Test week has came and passed. The Drake bulldogs have finally had a chance to see what a year, a month, all those six a.m. workouts have manifested into. And unlike years previous our whole team got to be a part of the successes, and failures, of the final test week before spring break. Our team set the ambitious goal of 210 personal records in seven testable areas. Long jump, vertical jump, 40 yard dash, 5-10-5, Squat, Bench, and Hang clean. We rallied around the atmosphere we created and reached many new personal records. My own experience is something of an emotional thing. In the weeks preceding max week I was going through either the onsets of Chrone's disease, ulcerative colitis or an infection that kept me exhausted. But I was not willing to sacrifice the perfect PR record I had brought into this year. Every test week, every winter, I found it in me to reach or pass every one of my goals. But this week would be different. In speed work outs I got exponentially better in my 5-10-5 but my forty, while it was faster, was not where I wanted it. Jumps went okay, I saw an inch more height from just a couple weeks making me more than happy with what I had reached in my vertical. My broad jump made 4/4 in the personal records. Going into wednesday I was feeling better but my body was still a little drained as I rolled into the weight room. I took my grips at the hang clean bar and proceeded to get the bar to my chest seven times, but not get my chest under it a single time. I came back at the same weight and eventually got to match my previous PR but matching isn't beating and this got into my head. My streak had been broken, I was psyched out, and not five minutes later I could not get my forearms extended to break my PR in bench press. I left the Gym feeling a foot tall. But when squat time came, with some of my friends struggling, I could not help but get pessimistic. There would be no way to get this bar up the four times I needed too. But when my teammates and coaches got behind me I just kept going and when my body finally gave out I had met my PR and then some. Five times at a weight I could not have imagined attempting a year ago. Finally a part of this week didn't seem to be a disappointment for me personally. So in the end the successes and failures of the week leave us with hope for the upcoming season and the progress our team has made. But the week also leaves us with the reminder of how we still need to keep pushing to get better. It is a reminder of how we are capable of falling short of our goals, and we can't allow that to happen. Max week is important not just because it shows our progress but reminds us that we have far to come.

19,000 feet.

Eugene "EJ" Walter 97

It was a long two days coming back to school from Spring Break. Walking around the gloomy streets of Des Moines make you really appreciate your Spring Break destination! Along with seeing family, I got to enjoy my trip with some friends. Our winter workouts have now ended and we absolutely crushed our max week! It's now March and Spring Football practice have started, and our team is pretty pumped up. Our theme for the 2011 season was revealed Sunday night and it makes perfect sense to be associated with our team – “Climb to the Top”. Along with climbing that Mountain in May, we need to climb to the top as a team to win a championship. This is a theme that our team will focus on each and every day and take it one step at a time. As for our trip, it has been reported that our Global Kilimanjaro Bowl game on May 21st will have a Live TV Broadcast! Keep checking out the blog, my website-www.camgoodvideo.com and www.kilibowl.com for more updates!

-Cameron Good

Max week was a huge evaluation for our winter conditioning. Our team had set a goal of 210 personal records that were to be achieved. That meant that each athlete had to complete 3 pr’s. I thought the team did an excellent job of staying motivated throughout the week. I felt the energy was upbeat, and support was coming form all of the team. I know personally that I was worried about getting 3 personal records because of how high my prs have been in the past and soreness in my legs. My teammates help keep me focused, and I think I achieved 3 prs. The support and motivation from my teammates was outstanding. After max week, I head home to Kansas City, Missouri, for some much needed rest and relaxation. Nothing compares to going home and being pampered by your parents. Since we will be going to Africa I will not be able to come home for an extended period, so I took advantage of spending this time with my parents. We returned from spring break and had a team meeting before spring ball would start. Coach motivated us for spring, and made us realize that spring practices were just another step in our pursuit of the PFL championship.

Thanks for reading.
Pat Cashmore #30

Hello again Bulldog fans! I just want to talk a little about our max week as a football team and then touch on some of the things we have coming up in the spring. Max week for me did not show the typical progress one would make during winter workouts. After having surgery, I could not do any physical activity for at least 6 weeks and was not able to run until over 2 months. That being said, I was not able to work out as much as I typically would. The results showed. I did not beat any of my personal records which was tough for me because we had set a goal of 210 PR's for the entire team. 210 PR's equates to three per player on the team. We can earn PR's in eight events and I had gotten zero. Even though I was not able to work out in preparation for max week as much as I would have and even though surgery is a big set back, it still ate away at me. After the week was over, Coach Creighton calculated how many PR's our team got and the total was 304!!! This was amazing for our team to beat our goal by such a large margin.
Moving on into spring ball. This is always a time for great improvement and lots of fun. On top of perfecting form and understanding our assignments on the field, we also get to beat up on each other for 5 weeks. Spring ball is a lot of fun and it will be interesting to see who can prove themselves to his teammates. The defense needs to know and understand a new scheme and the time has come for the offense to really start shining. Anyways, thanks for reading again and as always, GO BULLDOGS!

Jim Nelson #13

Jim Nelson
Drake University
Marketing and Entrepreneurial Management
Drake Football

Proud to Be A Bulldog

One specific time I can remember how being a Drake football was important came last spring. I went on my spring break to San Diego, CA to visit a friend. He was still in school and had a field trip to Dreamworks Studios in Los Angeles. Well knowing that I was coming to visit, he asked his professor if I could come along since we study the same fields. Professor said yes, and we were off to Dreamworks! During our visit there, we were in a "resume-building" session with Dreamworks' recruiters. Giving tips on how we can improve our resume and job interviews. The main recruiter was impressed that I actually came out there but what he was more impressed with was my resume he glanced at. It wasn't the under the video production experience or awards category. He just simply pointed at how I wrote that I am a Drake Football player and said, "That is going to help you...A lot". Just to hear that from a person who looks at hundreds of resume's each day made me realize how important it is to be a student-athlete. We deal with so many activities with playing our sport and then succeeding in school, that it will eventually give us the advantage in the long run! That's my story when I realized how important it is to be a Drake Football Player.

- Cameron Good, #4

P.S. - I currently have a website up right now for my journalism class. I created a blog/vlog that will focus on our upcoming trip!

So now you got 2 blogs to check out and get the latest info on our experience!

http://www.camgoodvideo.com/

Hey Bulldog Fans, this week I want to talk about a time when Drake Football has been important to me.  When we played Jacksonville during the 2009 season, our team was losing pretty badly at half time. The JU team had basically packed their bags and was ready to get on the long flight back to Florida. But our team has too much pride to just roll over and die. We made a conscious decision to stick our foot in the ground and change the momentum of the game. They were in our town and on our home field. When the second half started, we came out with a new fire and passion for the game. We fought and fought and squeezed the life out of that

Jacksonville team until they had nothing left. We clawed our way back into the game and finally finished out the game with a victory against an incredible opponent. The feeling I had after that game is almost impossible to describe. Every player on our squad contributed to that victory and we all learned something that day. We learned that no matter what, you can never quit. Even when the odds are stacked against you because the odds aren't always right. We came out to play that day and showed the perseverance our team has. Since that time, our team has learned from more obstacles we have encountered and we are better for it. There will come a time next year when we are losing a game but if you take a look at the faces of the players on our team, you will see calmness about us. We play Drake Football for all four quarters. The strong overcome diversity and you can count on us to do just that this coming fall! Thanks for checking in again and as always, GO BULLDOGS!

Jim Nelson #13

Jim Nelson

Drake University

Marketing and Entrepreneurial Management

Drake Football

The time I was proudest of being a Drake Bulldog was my freshman year in light of a tragedy for our team. Before I came to Drake the senior leader, the captain, and one of the more passionate players I have ever had the privilege of playing with had his season ended his junior season due to breaking two bones in his arm. Now fast forward to early in the next season, I am watching and cheering when the other team breaks off a long run, and my eyes follow the football. But then I here a scream from the field “No, not again!” I turn my eyes in time to see Cale Hunt, our leader, falling to his knees clenching his arm. He is facing our sideline, which has been sucked into the silence of a vacuum. I can’t remember the final score; I just remember the sideline being broken with Cale’s arm and then, when he was carted off the field in the ambulance our game reaching a new level. We became better in spite of loosing our best player because we became something more than a team. We played harder, we cheered harder, we erupted forward into a passion for our football family, and it was this feeling that has driven me through all the hard times my three years since. Cale Hunt rehabbed and returned after his arm had broken twice. He gave everything he had for this team, and the team reciprocated, and experiencing something like that is what makes pride in being a Drake Bulldog something truly amazing to be a part of.

-Eugene "EJ" Walter 97

Thanks for reading.

“Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.” -Arnold Schwartzenegger

What motivates a Drake Bulldog to climb Kilimanjaro?

What motivates a Drake Bulldog to climb Kilimanjaro?

It is a grueling test of endurance and will to climb a mountain. The landscape might be scenic and the gesture may be grand but the harsh reality of climbing such a distance is a scary thing. I can’t say that I have felt, or will feel anything like I am going to experience climbing Killi but I can imagine that I will need some extremely powerful motivators to get me through to the top. At first I imagine that I, being one for enjoying the artistic natural world in all its glory will try to take in as much of this jungle as I can. But when my boots get heavy, I will probably drift into thoughts of things here, in Des Moines. Working harder toward next year and my future, setting goals and trying to envision what the path before me might hold. When the mountain starts to get a little cold I will probably drift into my book idea, my life in Kansas, something to distract me from the world around me. I will try to excite myself with ideas and fantasies of what life would be like if a book I wrote was a success. When my feet get a little red and wet. I will probably begin to wonder if it is all worth it. If getting to the top is such a big deal. I will try to calculate how many more steps/miles/minutes I will be marching up this mountain. But when all is said and done, I am thinking that my main motivators are going to be the people who mean most to me. The thought of doing all of this is amazing, but it is really special for me to do it for my family. My mother who worked really hard to get me into better schools, a good college, on a football team, and onto this plane to Africa will be with me every dreary step of the way. I will breath in the sacrifices she has made for me and drip them, as sweat, onto the soil. She will be as much a part of this trip for me as anyone physically there. And when my mind and body have decided they want to quit I will be reminded of what is perhaps the greatest thing about being a bulldog. Companionship, when the bitter winds really do hit my face, and all the other places in the world seem better then here, I am sure that my teammates will push to get me through. They will drive me and motivate me because that’s just what we do. We strive to get the best out of one another and we as a team will not consider the trip a success if we do not get our teammates up that mountain. We are Drake Bulldogs and this is what we do.

-Eugene "EJ" Walter 97

When I think about the driving factor that will force me to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, it will be just the happiness of what has been given in my life. Despite the sacrifices we've made, we are all very fortunate to be apart of this trip. We do not take life for granted and I think once we are climbing this mountain, we will realize how great this experience is. It is a life-changing experience for us. I will also think of my friends and family back home as motivation. I want them to know that I did it! I will also realize without them in my life, I probably wouldn't be where I'm at now. The last motivation force for me will be the soldiers and veterans in our country. Recently, I've been doing community service at Des moines' VA (Veterans' Administration) Hospital. Just meeting the veterans and hearing their stories they went through makes this climb seem as if it is a tiny feat. I will think of all the troubles they went through, all of the  mountains and slopes they climbed and of course the sacrifices they made.  

This will motivate me to defeat this mountain!

Cam Good, #4

 I don't know what to expect from Mt.Kilimanjaro.  I'm excited to say that I will be climbing the prestigious mountain.  What a memory our football team will have when we come back for a reunion?  We climbed one of the tallest mountains in the world!!!! Gosh that's so exciting and awesome.  I will admit that I'm a little worried of how my body will react to the elevation.  I've heard some scary stories of people not reacting well, but I can't let that stop me from climbing that mountain.  The opportunity of climbing this mountain is what motivates me.  Some people will never have a chance like this, and this is why I can't let this slip away. This will be a check off my list of things to do.  The mountain journey will provide some comedy, life stories, and football talk. I imagine I will get to become better friends/teammates with the guys.  We will be hiking for 6/7 days, so it will be good to mingle with everyone.  This adventure will bring different motivation from each individual and I hope to hear about them. This will be a once and lifetime adventure, and I can't wait.

Pat Cashmore #30

Drake Fans! This week I want to talk about what will be driving me up Mount Kilimanjaro. As I said last week, I had a major shoulder surgery on the 8th of December. Getting to the top of this mountain will be an absolutely huge accomplishment for me after this surgery. Doctors kept saying how tough it would be to come back from a surgery like this but I pray about it every day and stay consistent with my physical therapy. Yes, surgery is a tough opponent but it is just one more thing that I will not be defeated by and it is standing between me and a PFL Championship ring. Also, I think about how close our team was last year to winning the PFL. Jacksonville and Dayton thought we had no business being close with them in a football game. They are good teams but it would be a huge mistake to underestimate us. I know how tough we were last year and we are going to be even more dangerous this year. They have a target on their backs and climbing this mountain will start a great series of victories for the Bulldog Nation. Thanks for reading again this week and as always, GO DAWGS!

Jim Nelson, #13