THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — It is just over a week until the 2018 Cal Lutheran football season and now the Kingsmen will take the academics side into the mix as the new school year started Wednesday.
Student-athletes will have to get back into their routine of handling academics and athletics at the same time, by concentrating on school work and practices.
This past Tuesday, the Kingsmen also got to experience the Los Angeles Rams at training camp.
We talked with junior defensive back Obasi Dees, junior linebacker William Kelly, senior defensive back Ty Lozano and senior quarterback Hayden Smith about the upcoming season, balancing school and the opportunity to see the Rams. First up was the football team and practices.
"This year is going to be different as nobody is scared to step up or step in," said Kelly. "Per the depth, we have guys that are ready. They know the plays and know their stuff. We as a defense have come together and talked about the defense that we want to be. As a unit, we take pride in what we're doing."
"I've been here the past three years and I've never seen a team more fully developed and well gelled together," said Lozano. "I've never seen us more unified. It's cool to see teammates, that you don't really know their names, stepping up and being leaders."
Smith and Dees dove into the offense and defense a little bit more and also talked about the 7-on-7 scrimmages.
"We have a newer team, so the vets have been great about showing how we practice.," said Smith. "Keeping the energy and enthusiasm alive is what we are focused on. The 7-on-7 is great, because it brings competitiveness and this team loves to compete. It's fun to see the offense make big plays and then the defense countering those. It just brings the energy to practice."
"We definitely like to talk a little trash during practice, especially when we do 7-on-7, but that's part of the game," said Dees. "It helps with the competitiveness, but it's all love at the end of the day. Regarding other teams though, I keep it professional at games and give CLU a good name. I want to keep the Kingsmen tradition by letting my play do the talking."
Now with the school year starting up, the Kingsmen will get back in their routine of being student-athletes. The upperclassmen were quick to help the newcomers and said what works best for them.
"It's just about finding a routine," said Smith. "Make sure you're eating well and keeping up with your nutrition. Get to your studies as soon as you can and just stay on top of it."
"There is going to be a lot of distractions, but you have to keep that laser focus," added Kelly. "If you have that routine, you can still do the things you want, but you'll still have that grind."
Another thing the Violet and Gold were able to experience during training camp was a professional team's practice. With the Los Angeles Rams training camp right next to CLU's campus, the Kingsmen went to a practice to see how a professional team handles it.
"It was surreal," said Kelly. "We see those guys on the national level and on ESPN, so it's real cool to have that connection. Guys are obviously bigger and the speed of the game is different, but their practices are similar to ours. It helps you realize that you can still play with that intensity at our level."
"You can definitely take some thigs away from a professional practice," said Lozano. "The biggest thing I learned was don't take any rep for granted. Keep working and keep dreaming. It's cool with them so close, and you can see that boundary level that you want to achieve and have that goal in mind."
"It was a blessing," said Dees. "Who would've thought that I would see something like that. It gives me confidence, because I want to be there some day. Just seeing the DBs take mental reps, it gives me confidence that I can be there. I am grateful to CLU and Coach McEnroe for letting us go up there."
As the season continues to get closer, tune in for more information from camp and keep a look out for the season preview.
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Release by Ryan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director
