The Wisconsin football team enters the upcoming season with a novel approach to the development of its players.
After the first day of practice in PlattevilleWisconsin Football Head Coach Lukasz Fickell I was asked a handful of questions regarding players. One of the more light-hearted questions was about players taking their gaming consoles with them during the two-week off-campus training camp. Coach Fickell had a solemn answer to that question and took the time to talk about what he expects from the players off the field early on.
Wisconsin football head coach Luke Fickell lets players find their rhythm
As the first practice of camp came to a close, Wisconsin football head coach Luke Fickell addressed the media and spoke in detail about his players and camp strategies. Fickell wore a Wisconsin T-shirt with the words “Hunt or be Hunted” on it, and he explained that phrase during Q&A.
“We have to understand that our biggest challenge is within our own program. The whole idea of hunting or being hunted is that there’s a lot of hunting within the program, and that’s because we’re challenging each other to make each other better.” — Wisconsin Badgers head football coach Luke Fickell on the intensity of the players in camp.
Fickell was asked about the intensity of football and how players may feel the need to challenge each other on offense and defense. The coach responded by stating, “We have to understand that our biggest challenge is our own program. The whole idea of hunting or being hunted is that there are a lot of hunts in the program, and that’s because we challenge each other to make each other better.”
The coach concluded his response to the question by adding, “It’s not going to do anything but make us better.” Fickell said he should be the one most concerned about the intensity and potential chippy play, but that’s not something he thinks about. The Wisconsin football leader believed the players needed to find a rhythm while also setting the team’s standards.
Luke Fickell: “As long as they play football on their consoles…”
One aspect of the players’ development of the routine that Wisconsin football coach Luke Fickell mentioned during his first question was that the players brought their gaming systems with them to Platteville. The Wisconsin football team will be in Platteville to start preseason camp, and some players will bring more equipment than others.
Speaking about his players’ routine, Fickell stated, “Some of them brought their gaming systems and I said as long as they’re playing football on their gaming systems, that’s fine with me, as long as they’re getting seven hours of sleep, that’s fine with me.” The coach concluded his statement by saying, “Everything else is football.”
Wisconsin Badgers football team, players focused on meeting standards
One of the words Coach Fickell used when explaining what he expects from his players is “standards.” Fickell acknowledged that the team, both staff and players, need to establish what is and is not acceptable heading into the season.
At one point in practice, Fickell called for a meeting between the offense and defense before they resumed practice shortly after. Asked about it during his media availability, the coach said, “That’s a pressure point, and for me in particular, the opportunity to really establish what those standards are going to be.”
Fickell added that there are no excuses for not meeting the team’s standards when he stated, “This is a period where we’re trying to play faster, and if we just say, ‘This is day one, we’ll let them work through some of these things,’ that’s not something we’re going to do right now.” Fickell also admitted that the team didn’t lack standards last season, but rather that the team needs to reassess them before the season starts.
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