Rain moves football indoors
Ryan Tubongbanua / The Collegian
Fresno State coach Pat Hill and his staff instructed players on summer workouts for the upcoming season. Spring practice concluded yesterday. |
By Darrell Copeland III
The Collegian
The Fresno State football team finally has an indoor futbol facility.
Fresno Indoor Soccer has hosted the team for the past three days, turning what is normally a soccer exclusive building into a football haven.
Not exactly what head coach Pat Hill had in mind for the end of spring practice, but with an unplayable practice field due to persistent rain, he has had no choice.
The Bulldogs’ practice field is an emergency flood basin in case of continuous rain, resulting to the move indoors this week.
“Our practice field was under three feet of water, [Thursday] it was up to about a foot of water,” Hill said.
Bulldogs players walked or drove to the Fresno Indoor Soccer facility, located on Cedar Avenue near Bulldog Lane, with shoulder pads on and helmets in hand. Receiver Kevin Ciccone, who emerged from the Fresno State locker room with pads and helmet on, decided to chauffeur teammate Drew Lubinsky to the soccer center, as if he were on his way to a demolition derby.
“We’re not even really competing,” said Bulldogs quarterback Tom Brandstater.
Size limitations at the indoor facility meant the Bulldogs’ offensive and defensive squads competed separately. Each side took its turn on the field turf for an hour before returning to the Duncan Athletic Building for an hour and a half of film study.
An indoor soccer field is essentially a shrunken down ice hockey rink, complete with glass boards and field turf. The restraints limited the Bulldogs to mostly short passing drills and walk-throughs.
“The run game might be the best suited for this place,” Brandstater said.
Fresno State running back Dwayne Wright called it a little bit of “rent-a-football action.”
Hill and his staff would rather have the luxury of clear skies and live plays, but instead improvised.
“It’s not the ideal situation but we’re making the best out of the opportunity,” Hill said.
What has been made of the situation are preparations for summer workouts.
“We’re doing a lot of teaching of what we need taught during the 24 days of summer workouts,” Hill said.
Thursday’s indoor practice was the last of its kind for the Bulldogs and was the final practice of the spring.
Friday’s scheduled scrimmage, which was to conclude spring football season for the Bulldogs, was canceled.
The scrimmage is yet another victim of the wet weather, but the Bulldogs did get in close to 300 live plays this spring, according to Hill, and he has been happy with the work Fresno State has completed.
“We got a lot accomplished this spring,” Hill said.
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