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
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