Getting Players Back On The Field
4/28/2016 8:29:00 AM | Football, Bearkat Champions Fund
Fans at the Orange-White football game that marked the end of Sam Houston spring practice this month may have been surprised that a number of the Bearkats' top offensive and defensive players stayed on the sidelines.
All-America defensive end P. J. Hall and All-Southland running back Corey Avery were two of the biggest names in the group of top performers who did not see action in the scrimmage. But the players' absence of these student-athletes was part of a plan by Sam Houston head coach K. C. Keeler to have his team fit and ready to go when the 2016 season kicks off next fall.
“Spring ball is not about winning the Orange-White game. Spring ball is about getting ready to win during the regular season,” Keeler said. “We know what our offensive line can do. We know what Corey and P. J. can do. Believe me, the offensive lineman who participated in the game are glad we held P. J. out.”
As beneficial as spring ball can be, the thought of losing a player to injury during the offseason is uppermost in the coaching staff's mind in their planning. The Orange-White game and a short scrimmage earlier marked the only two times Sam Houston tackled to the ground during the four weeks of spring camp.
“This spring we concentrated more on keeping our tempo up and getting a lot of individual work in like teaching fundamentals,” Keeler said. “We did a really good job with the basics, such as good stances, good technique and understanding where your eyes should be.”
Another important effort during spring practice was working with players to help them return from injuries that caused them to miss all or part of the 2015 campaign.
Junior defensive end Mouf Adebo, an All-Southland performer in 2014, played in last year's opener at Texas Tech but missed the rest of the season with an injury. Junior tight end Ragan Henderson missed the entire fall. Senior DeWitt Weaver, also an all-league honoree as a junior, returned late in the season to play but was out for most of the year.
The trio and other players who battled injuries were restricted in their numbers of reps and will be competing to return to their roles as starts when preseason camp begins in August.
“Brandon is really coming along,” Keeler said. “He started every game as a redshirt sophomore then missed a lot of last year. He's going to have to battle to get back in the lineup because we have two really good tackles in Sam Hardy and Mitchell Watanabe.
“Ragan is back and looked really good this spring. We limited his snaps to ease him back in. Mouf still has a ways to go before he's flying around.”
Playing a big part in the success of returning these and other student-athletes back to action is Sam Houston's outstanding athletic training personnel.
Head athletic trainer Hope Parker and her staff play a major role in helping Sam Houston achieve its goal of “Building Champions.”
“A lot of times we develop lasting relationships with student-athletes who are dealing with long term injury situations,” Parker said. “We definitely get to know those individuals more in a continual one-on-one situation. We spend a lot of time with each of them and learn how to push them. That's a lot of time and energy both parties but in and trust develops from there.”
For Sam Houston sports fans, a simple list of recent outstanding Bearkat student-athletes who have achieved on a high level to bring national and regional recognition to the university should suffice in demonstrating the success of the athletic training department in returning players to action better and stronger.
That list includes names like Timothy Flanders (football), DeMarcus Gatlin (men's basketball), Danielle Demas (track and field), Lachlan Edwards (football) and Angele Beadle (women's basketball). Each of these student-athletes along with so many others have overcome athletic injuries to return to play and succeed.
Staying healthy and rehabilitating from injury is as important as anything necessary for Sam Houston's student-athletes to succeed at a championship level. Alumni, fans and friends who wish to help the more than 400 Bearkats receive the medical and athletic training resources they need can help continue building Bearkat Champions by supporting them online through the Athletic Training Enrichment Fund Building Champions link.
