Code:
Written Option: Right now it is really starting to feel like football season… At least for those of us Northerners. The weather is beginning to change and pass happy offenses are learning how to deal with the wind and rain, and heaven forbid, snow… How does your team prepare for games in the elements? What do you different with your game plan? Who on your team gets better in cold weather games?
I feel we are at a bit of a disadvantage going to some of the colder climates during the fall. Austin gets hot and stays hot pretty much right on through the Fall and into the Winter. I gotta hand it to our coaching staff as they do as best they can to prepare us for the elements. There isn't much they can do in preparation for the weather, so we just have to be aware of the climate we are travelling to and dress accordingly. That means bringing extra of basically everything. We also are encouraged to pack for cold weather if we are playing in a northern or eastern city around this time, regardless of what the weather reports say. From there, it is up to the individual player as far as what they do to prepare. Some guys are really affected by the cold weather and they go through some massive preparation. I, on the other hand, grew up in the Bay Area so it gets fairly cold during the Fall and Winter so I feel I am a little more tolerant of the cold.
As far as game planning goes, we have a pretty solid run game with Ashley and Mako so we don't feel a great crunch when weather forces us to be more run heavy. The coaches may prepare us by giving us slicker footballs to practice with or over watering the practice field to get the field all muddy and prepare us that way. They come up with some crazy stuff to simulate the elements. Rain machines, muddy fields, freezing the football, they do whatever it takes to prepare us.
276 Words