First Live Action

Our scrimmage with Nokia allowed us to get some important reps for both sides of the ball on Saturday evening. Nokia plays in a lower division than us and they seemed to be missing several of their players. Five of our first seven running plays resulted in touchdowns, so it is hard to really estimate where we stand in relation to other Maple League teams. We appreciate the guys from Nokia coming up here for the scrimmage and the effort they gave on the field.

Sunday was an off day, so I focused on getting my laundry done and writing up our running plays against various fronts for our Oline. We only have about 25% of our offense in at this point, so we have a lot more teaching and installation to do before our home opener in two weeks.

We have practices everyday again this week and then some testing at a sports training facility on Thursday. I will be traveling out to the same training facility tomorrow morning with our other American coach Todd Klugh to speak at a seminar at the sports institute. It will be similar to the talks I gave last summer on team building and attitude/motivation. These seminars are something I enjoy, and it allows me to get out and meet Finnish business people from all walks of life. Many of them are very curious about life in America.

There are still snow banks all around the field-- I failed to pack enough warm clothes for the temps we've been getting since I arrived!

Team Nokia

American import Robert Bishop warming up during pre-game

That is team captain Thomas Cekken in the center of the picture-- He is as intense as any football player I have ever been around

One of our new defensive players we signed for the 2010 season-- Ollie played for the Roosters last season, as you can see by his helmet

Men in Black-- Me with Coach Todd Klugh-- Todd hails from New York. He is doing a superb job with our defense.

The Crocs defense is ready


Lights out.