Insider: Preseason ends, classes start

The Wildcats’ final scrimmage today unofficially marked the end of the preseason. No one was seriously injured which means it was a great day. The team warmed up like it was a game which got everyone’s adrenaline flowing. We did everything full speed minus hits on the quarterbacks. No matter how hard you try, you can never recreate the speed of a real game but its the best we can do until next weekend. Overall the offense looked good. There’s still a lot of work to be done but we’re feeling good about what we’ve got so far. The defense has looked crisp, even with backups stepping in for some veterans during the scrimmage.

On the school side of things, classes started on wednesday. And since it seems to be a hot topic thanks to Matt Twinkletoes Leinart, I’ll put in my two cents on the matter of 5th year seniors and their class loads. First, I am taking only one credit myself for my thesis which is required for physics majors at Linfield. There’s no class to attend, I just have to finish my research and write the paper. We have some other seniors who are taking a two or three credit class and others that are still full time. 5th years do just as much work as everyone else, if not more. It’s not always a cakewalk. We’ve still had to meet graduation requirements, still had to make grades. Most of us work cause we don’t qualify for financial aid for housing and the credits we have to pay for.

Some guys use their 5th year to take a class they’ve wanted to take but have never had the time. Some need to make up for time lost when switching majors or studying abroad. And some guys take a class to learn valuable life-long social skills…like ballroom dancing.

Insider: ‘Cats get back to work

Dear reader:

We’ve asked a few Division III players and coaches to join our blog and give us an inside look into life in Division III football. Introducing Linfield senior center Dwight Donaldson:

DonaldsonToday the ‘Cats went back to work after a short break over the weekend. Most had a really low key weekend after our morning scrimmage on Saturday with a couple different guys having bbq’s. Campus has become flooded with students again after the whole place was empty over the summer. It’s great to see familiar faces again but I might be willing to trade it back for open parking spaces. There’s nothing worse than having 30 seconds to get to meetings and you can’t find a spot to park. Some guys just resort to leaving their flashers on in a yellow, but then you run the risk of draining your battery and needing a jump to move it so a semi can get through.

Getting back out on the field after the time off was a little tougher than many of us were expecting. Warming up for our morning workout we felt like we’d just played a game the day before. Guys were groaning just doing a couple of functional exercizes. I guess that’s what happens when you go for 9 or 10 days straight.

Our afternoon practice was a little sluggish but the seniors will make sure it doesn’t happen 2 days in a row. We finished up the day with evening meetings which is par for the course. The team spent about 20 minutes talking with the freshman about tips for class schedules and then studied film on Saturday’s scrimmage and today’s practice.

Tomorrow will be a true double with full practices at 8:30 and 7 and meetings in the afternoon. The evening practice is sure to be spirited. There’s just something about being under the lights that gets guys fired up. It’s also our last practice of doubles since classes start on Wednesday. Which also means I will have finished the last doubles of my career, a truly bitter-sweet event.