August 4, 2022 at 10:24 a.m.
RHS football looking to pick up the pace
RHS football looking to pick up the pace
One of the first activities for the skill position players when they got out onto the field for the first time during Tuesday's three-hour session was running the 40-yard dash.
That was not by accident for Aaron Kraemer, who heads up both the Hodag football and track teams. After graduating a number of key players off last year's 8-2 squad, he said this year's team needs to be fast and powerful to remain one of the top teams in the Great Northern Conference.
"If I believe in it during track season, I better believe in it here," said Kraemer, who guided the Hodag boys' track team to their second GNC title in four years this past May. "I think there are a lot of teams that think they can beat you with raw strength. This league, for a long time, has been a run-first league. I think we saw last year with Mosinee you can win with speed. That feeds right into the way I coach my track team and it should feed right into the way I coach my football team. We want to win with speed and speed translates to power. If you can be strong and move that strength quickly, speed and strength equals power. That's what we want to do. We want to be fast and powerful. It's not brute strength that wins. It's power and speed. That's what we're preaching."
Tuesday ended up being a longer first day than normal for the Hodags. That's because, under a change in the WIAA calendar, equipment handout, baseline concussion testing and the first day of practice were all held on the same day. In prior years, teams could hand out equipment, take care of clerical items and do concussion testing the day before the first practice.
The team started handing out gear three hours before it took the field, and it needed that much time considering the large turnout.
"When you have numbers near 70-80, that's a good group," Kraemer said. "We had 24-25 freshmen and then the rest. There are 50 guys playing varsity/JV football. That's a good spot. We had a lot of good competition out here today. The sophomores are working hard and the juniors and seniors, they're a step ahead right now but, as we go through the week, we'll see how the cream rises to the top."
Kraemer's primary focus will be on the defense this year as he takes over the defensive play-calling role from defensive coordinator Gary Zarda, who stepped down at the end of last season. Luke Roberts, a 2015 RHS graduate and former player at UW-Oshkosh, takes over the offensive play-calling duties. While the players got accustomed to the coaches in their new roles during voluntary 7-on-7 and team camp over the summer, Kraemer said the focus this week is about getting everyone back up to speed as quickly as possible.
That could be easier said than done for a team that lost seven starters on offense and eight starters on defense to graduation.
"The one thing we were missing today was that intuition, the knowing where you need to be instead of thinking about where you need to be," Kraemer said. "We have a group that's young on defense. Offensively, the offensive line, you can hear it in their communication just like it was Week 9 last year. They have a veteran group. I guess, in different spots, there are parts of the team that are moving a little bit quicker. But the one think I saw was guy willing to coach up the guys that are behind them, which will help us get there a little bit quicker. My belief is if you want to be an expert at something, you have to be able to teach it. Our guys have to learn it, they teach it and they'll become experts at it."
The team practiced in helmets only Tuesday and Wednesday and was able to add shoulder pads to the mix Thursday through the end of this week's practices, which conclude with Saturday's Green and White Day (see sidebar). The team cannot begin full-padded practice until next week as it prepares for its preseason scrimmage Aug. 12 at Lakeland.
Rhinelander hosts Tomahawk Aug. 19 to kick off the 2022 campaign.
Hodags on Guardian
Guardian Caps, the rugby-style headgear that has been spotted over the helmets of linemen, linebackers and tight ends during NFL training camps this summer, were also on display during Tuesday's opening practice for the Hodags.
Rhinelander had the protective headgear on all of its players. Kraemer said the move was not a reaction to the NFL, rather it came at the suggestion of new assistant coach Steve Zangl, who used the caps at Oshkosh North.
"He came in and insisted that we need to do this. I looked into them and it's only validation when you look at NFL training camps and see them using them," Kraemer said.
Kraemer said the cap's purpose is not so much to stop a concussion on a hard hit, but rather to limit the effects of sub-concussive hits at practice, that could potentially accumulate over time and turn into a concussion.
"You're never going to really stop a full-speed hit, or a hit to the ground, in ending up in putting you in some kind of compromised position," he said. "But, if we can stop the small hits in practice between the offensive linemen, when you come to a hole and come to a stop, if we can stop those sub-concussive hits, I feel like it puts us in a better position on gameday."
Some in the NFL, including New York Jets head coach Robert Saleh and Arizona Cardinals defensive end J.J. Watt, have expressed concerns that the caps could provide a false sense of invincibility in practice, which may lead to poor tackling habits - such as leading with the helmet. Kraemer said he can see the argument, which puts additional onus on coaches to teach and reinforce proper tackling techniques.
"We have to make sure that the kids understand that just because that's on at practice, it comes off during a game," he said. "So, it's a safety (measure) in practice, but we have to coach even more (having) eyes up through the tackle, finishing with our shoulders. It still needs to be coached. Just because we're wearing these doesn't give us a concussion-free zone."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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