The start of any camp is met with excitement. For the Florida Gators football team the start of fall camp signaled a new beginning with an influx of freshmen and a new coaching staff ready to get a brand new era of Florida football underway. That excitement, however, is met with the realization of the grind that a camp can be. Long days spent in the weight room and then the sun, hitting your teammates and seeing the same faces line up across from you day in and day out can wear on the body and mind.
“I think the novelty of the new season, the fresh new uniforms you’ve got have now been washed a whole bunch,” Head Coach Jim McElwain said of how the mentality of the players can change during a camp. “Sometimes the guys’ focus on detail starts to slip as their bodies are really sore and they get tired and the monotony of the every-day kind of takes in.”
As the Gators entered week three of fall camp, McElwain was encouraged by the way his team came out to practice for two-a-days on Sunday. The Gators have been using their second practice of the day — held at night — as the one where they suit up in full pads. Florida’s first three games have nighttime kickoffs, and McElwain is looking to get his team into a rhythm this camp to prepare for that.
“I’ve got to say, yesterday’s two-a-day was as good a back-to-back practices as I’ve ever seen,” McElwain said. “The energy, the attention to detail, the guys coming out prepared.”
McElwain has harped on attention to detail ever since the spring. He’s nitpicked, at times, when the little things have been overlooked and he’ll continue to harp on the details as Florida enters what he considers to be the most important week of camp.
In McElwain’s mind, week three of camp is a fork in the road. The newness and excitement has worn off but the season is still several weeks away. The team is stuck in the grind of camp and they need to look in the mirror and decide what they’re going to do.
“At this point in camp is really when a lot of teams decide they’re either really going to get better or they’re going to try to just endure to get through the grind of what is two-a-days,” he said. “So, our need is from here to really keep driving forward and keep putting multiple back-to-back good practices together.”
The Gators got a good start to week three on Sunday, weather unfortunately cut Monday short but the team will be back in full pads for two practices on Tuesday.