Eagles Use Off Week for Conditioning, Preparations for Concordia
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — Wednesday afternoon, Carson-Newman College head coach Ken Sparks was smiling. Not one member of his team was. They were in the middle of running the length of the field and trying to stay upright. Sparks wasn't punishing his team, he was pushing them. It was just another example of "The Eagle Way."
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — Wednesday afternoon, Carson-Newman College head coach Ken Sparks was smiling. Not one member of his team was. They were in the middle of running the length of the field and trying to stay upright. Sparks wasn't punishing his team, he was pushing them. It was just another example of "The Eagle Way."
"We grow up into bigger Eagles," Sparks said. "We want to be the best conditioned team in America and the only way you can do that is conditioning drills."
With a full 14 days off between games, the No. 20-ranked Eagles had four goals to prepare for their Sept. 16 game against Concordia (Ala.).
"No. 1 is to play lower and more explosive," Sparks said. "No. 2 is to be better blockers and tacklers, which means using better technique. No. 3 is getting our leadership involved with our player's committee. No. 4 is to renew our commitment to conditioning."
It hasn't been all work for the C-N football team. After their 35-28 win over Bentley on Sept. 2, they finally took some time off. The players and coaches enjoyed a rest through Labor Day, their first breather since Fall Camp opened on Aug. 6.
"We were ready for a break and get back to fundamentals," Sparks said. "It was great this past weekend to get Labor Day off. They were ready for anti-labor. It was good for them and good for the coaching staff."
Tuesday, though, the pads were back on and the hitting commenced. Sparks called the fourth quarter comeback against Bentley a "heart win." In that final period, Carson-Newman played like Carson-Newman for the first time this season. The coaches and players watched the film, but it still took some time for the lessons to sink in.
"It's pretty obvious and if you went by Tuesday's practice, you'd say they didn't get the picture, Sparks said. "If you went by today's (Wednesday's), you'd think they got it. It's been regular practices with a lot of teeth, hair and eyeballs flying around. It's been physical practices."
Information on Concordia, an NAIA school, has been tough to come by. Last week they nearly upset Division II West Georgia, before falling 24-20. Sparks hasn't seen much, but takes some things for granted.
"I know they (Concordia) have athletes," Sparks said. "The big thing for us, and we say it every week, is that we aren't playing against Concordia, we're playing against Carson-Newman and we just have to get better."
The Eagles have one more week to get ready, improving their football skills and taking the lessons learned to heart in the final quarter against Bentley.
"We're not the fundamental football team we want to be," Sparks said. "A lot of these guys haven't played Carson-Newman football and that's what we've been working on this week."
