We just finished Boot Camp Session #4 yesterday, which was our first day of a double session, and session #5 will start @ 5:36 a.m. Thursday. Despite the newness of the chaos, everyone involved has done a really good job thus far.
I have been inundated with texts and emails over the last week, asking what Boot Camp entails. Not because I am trying to be secretive, but it is difficult to describe in words what it is. The more I have thought about the best way to respond to all the questions, is instead of trying to explain the ‘how‘ of what it is, it is more important to explain the ‘why‘.
Boot Camp obviously has some physical conditioning involved, but more importantly, the purpose of it, is for everyone involved in the program, not just the players, to completely understand who each of us are, and how we respond in adverse situations. It allows everyone to live thru that adversity, instead of talking about. It requires a high level of communication in all that we are trying to accomplish, and doesn’t allow anyone to have a way to escape their own responsibility to be the absolute best at whatever task they have to get done. The teams, the responsibilities, change almost on a minute by minute basis, so as much it is physical, it is mental, and emotional.
Boot Camp is where our team is formed, and allows all of us to see who we can count on to be everyday workers, who can be everyday leaders, and who can be everyday followers.
Tech’s Williams ready to tip off ‘boot camp’
After a couple of months working out with the new assistant coaches, Virginia Tech’s basketball players thought they had a good idea what to expect from new head coach Buzz Williams.
“We had summer workouts with the assistant coaches and we thought they were hard,” redshirt freshman guard Malik Muller said. “September started and Buzz started working us out. We kind of got to understand what it means to work hard.”
And Muller and his teammates expect that to go up a notch this week. The Hokies opened what Williams calls “boot camp” Monday, 10-14 days of workouts designed to build team chemistry and identify team leaders.
“It’s something that’s going to break us to make us,” junior center Joey van Zegeren said. “It’s going to make us tougher for the season.”
The players said Williams hasn’t really told them what boot camp will entail. He’s been focused on finishing the individual and small group workouts the team has been doing five days a week for the past month.
Van Zegeren said the players did some research online to see what Williams did with his Marquette teams, but still aren’t quite sure what they’ll be doing the new two weeks.