Hello folks,
Being around a pro team is something special. We're around the best of the best. Even if we're only here for a little more than a week I believe we will be able to take a ton of information back home that we can teach our team. And that is worth a lot, because it makes the SWARCO Raiders even stronger. So I can honestly say I feel blessed about the opportunity to be here.
Everybody here makes it really easy for us to feel right at home. Just this morning Head Coach Hue Jackson came up to talk to us at breakfast. He's a really nice guy. And although he has a million things on his mind he asked us if there's anything he could do for us. And all the other coaches also welcomed us with open arms. Most of them know who the SWARCO Raiders are and congratulated us on the two championships we won this season. This is great. It gives us the feeling that we're a part of the Raiders family.
And although you can tell they're getting ready for an important preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers they take the time for our questions. Since our offense with the SWARCO Raiders is much different than the one The Oakland Raiders run, I concentrate on the offensive line as they do some of the things we do in Austria. I was able to talk to offensive line coach Bob Wylie about some things. He gave me some good advice that I think will make our offensive line better.
The coaches aren't the only ones who help us having a blast out here. The players also are very friendly and humble. And I already have found a new mate (as we British people say). I'm talking about Quentin Groves.
Quentin just heard me talking and with my accent he realized that I must be from London. So he came up to me a few days ago and started to talk in the same British accent. For a minute there I actually thought he comes from London. He is that good. He's a really good guy. We're talking to each other after every practice.
As you can see, we're having a great time in Napa. Thanks for reading my blog.
Yours,
Lee Rowland
August 14, 2011
Hello folks,
Where do I start? The first few days with The Oakland Raiders here at training camp in Napa, California, have been great. From the day we arrived the whole organization has welcomed us with open arms.
Right after our plane touched down in San Francisco we went to the stadium to watch the preseason opener between the Raiders and the Arizona Cardinals. It was an intense game. On Saturday the team went back to practice.
It's all about getting the reps at practice. That's how they are getting the plays down so well, because they spend as much time just doing walk-throughs as they are doing regular practices. But that's what you need to do to get to the level they're playing at.
I was watching the offensive line in particular. It was interesting to see what they are doing, because as it turned out they are doing most of the same stuff I'm teaching my guys at practice. They use medicine balls and tennis balls for a particular drill. We do that, too. So that was really nice to see that we are obviously doing the right things.
Head Coach Hue Jackson also gave me and my fellow coaches from the SWARCO Raiders the okay to attend team meetings. So we jumped right at that opportunity and were at a team meeting last night. It was great to be there and it was good to listen to the coach. The main message Coach Jackson was giving his team in that meeting was that becoming a good football team is all about team building. And from what I've seen so far he's doing a fantastic job building this team.
I'm looking forward to the next days. Thanks for reading my blog.
Yours,
Lee Rowland
