Gavilan football takes field for offseason workouts
Gilroy – No pads. No helmets. Just pigskin.
The sun is out and so is the Gavilan College football team. It’s spring practice – a three-week period in which new players get introduced to the Rams’ system and returning players shake off the winter cobwebs.
“It’s nice and loose and fun,” said Brett Brennan, a returning defensive lineman out of San Benito High (’05). “Just trying to get back in the groove of playing football. Back in the groove with all our teammates.”
After 12 weeks of running and weightlifting, you’d better believe the Rams are thrilled to get out on the practice field. The two-day-a-week sessions are designed to put the basic offensive and defensive systems in place so that once practices begin in earnest in mid-August, the team can hit the ground running.
“Offense and defense … just putting in our coverages, formations, motions,” Gavilan head coach John Lango said. “Technique on man-to-man, zone technique, blitzes and different coverages, line stunts … there’s a lot to it. It’s extensive that way.”
While football is football, and Rams coaches whistled nearly every play dead before competitive juices left scrimmaging players injured, the practices have a toned-down feel. Minus the pads and the helmets, the Rams have an extra bounce in their step as they run plays from sideline to sideline.
“It’s a little less intense, I guess,” said 2005 Live Oak grad Dustin Vertin, a returning center and tight end. “It gets more competitive and we tend to hit a little harder toward the end of summer.”
Brennan said those who have already been in the program for a year use these practices as the first step in their training.
“Spring ball is more of a way to retrain your memories,” Brennan said. “Spring ball is just to get your feet under you, get back in shape.”
“Get the bread and butter down,” added Vertin.
But for the incoming freshmen, taking the field with their new teammates can be an eye-opening experience.
“It’s a lot different than high school. It’s a lot more complex,” said Taylor Micali, a linebacker who will graduate from Gilroy High next month. “Players are bigger. The thing I can really tell is the speed is way faster. I like it.”
Perhaps even more important than the technical aspect of the practices, Lango said the bonding his players experience in offseason workouts is crucial.
“Just to get that camaraderie amongst each other, to get that unity which, for us, is vital for the success of our program.”
Pointing to a group of players talking on the side of the field 20 minutes after a recent practice ended, Lango said the early grade on his team’s chemistry was an A+.
“The guys are still sitting around here BS-ing,” Lango noted, “talking about seeing a movie tonight, getting together on the weekend.”
Asked which area of his team appears to be off to the best start, Lango was quick to mention the Rams’ offensive line. Stocked with former ‘Balers (Brett and Phil Leonard, Ty Doty, Nick Kostielney and Matt Miller) and Acorns (Clayton Johnson and Vertin), Lango raved about the unit’s potential. Furthermore, even though the Rams as a whole sport an impressive GPA of 2.84, Lango was most impressed that the lowest mark of any offensive lineman was a 3.20.
On the academic front, after two more weeks of spring practice, the Rams will break so that the players can put their whole attention to finals. Once summer school begins on June 19, Gavilan will head back to the weight room four days a week and mix in some 7-on-7 drills on the field twice a week.
According to both Lango and his players, Rams weight coach Brett Nichols holds the keys to the team’s success. Doubling as the team’s defensive line coach, Nichols’ offseason training regimen in the gym has the Rams committed and inspired to lay the foundation for a strong season.
“That weight program he put in and how he runs it, that’s been the biggest factor in how successful we’re going to be,” Lango said.
After a disappointing 3-7 campaign in 2005, Lango and his players hope for a turnaround this season, a process that they believe is already well underway.
Asked how he likes the look of his team, albeit more than four months away from its opener, Lango said, “Excellent. It’s hard to compare because we’re not in gear, but right now, I’m very happy with our effort and enthusiasm.”
“I have high expectations,” the Gavilan coach continued. “I like now where we’re headed more than I ever have.
“Right now, everything is very positive.”
