Not a whistle to waste

Camp life for Bucs coaches is a rapid-fire routine of meetings, drills, video study, teaching - and showers.

By JOANNE KORTH
Published August 15, 2007

Defensive backs coach Raheem Morris, running Brian Kelly through a drill, likes the challenge of motivating players in the meeting room and loves the hands-on teaching time training camp affords.
	[Carrie Pratt | Times]

LAKE BUENA VISTA - Raheem Morris knows the hours are winding down on Bucs training camp. Soon, there will be no more two-a-day practices in sweltering heat. No more hotel rooms. No more stolen naps on locker room floors.

And it makes Morris sad.

No, really.

Morris, in his first season as the Bucs' defensive backs coach, loves training camp. The long days, the short nights, the bleary eyes from reviewing clip after clip of practice tape less than an hour after practice ends. Training camp is nonstop football.

Morris can't get enough.

"A lot of people say it's hard, but for coaches, camp is probably the most relaxing time," said Morris, 30. "You think about nothing but football. Usually when you're home, you get up and get ready and you still have to come to work. At camp, you don't lose any ticks."

Today is the Bucs' final day with two practices at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex. Camp breaks Thursday after a morning walk-through, and anyone standing near the door risks getting trampled by more than 80 players eager to go home.

For Morris, the monotony of the past three weeks has been heaven.

He recently shared his daily routine through a series of interviews, and could barely get the words out fast enough.

"I love it," he said.

Morris' eyes open at 5:30 a.m., well before the alarm clock at Hotel Celebration is set to go off. He gets up, plays music through his laptop, gets in the shower.

Downstairs, he grabs some juice, a piece of fruit and the morning newspapers. At 6 a.m., he takes a seat in the back of a meeting room and listens to assistant defensive backs coach Jimmy Lake help young players get a head start on their day.

At 7:30 a.m., the entire coaching staff meets to make any last-minute changes to the morning's practice plan. Afterward, Morris goes back to his room to get the dirty laundry he left by the door. He's not sure why he doesn't bring it down the first time, but he doesn't.

"It's my little routine," he said.

At 8:15 a.m., the defensive coaches ride together in a van to the practice facility, giving coordinator Monte Kiffin 10 minutes to address his staff during the "ride-over meeting." On site, coaches have about 10 minutes before practice starts, just enough time for a "Hackett nap." Named for quarterbacks coach Paul Hackett, the naps are a staff ritual, taken on the floor of the coaches' locker room.

Practice is from 8:30 to 11 a.m. For Morris, the time flies.

The only element of his practice that repeats from day to day is a period of agility drills called EDDs: Every Day Drills. After that, the team moves through a daily script designed by Kiffin and coach Jon Gruden: two-minute drills, goal line, short yardage, nickel blitz, base blitz.

"Those situations, as a coach, are your focus for the day," Morris said. "You have to emphasize the small details. It's not really hard to coach NFL players, it's that you have to find a way to stimulate those guys every day to make them feel like they're getting better."

At the hotel, Morris takes a long shower and calls his girlfriend. He grabs lunch to go, and he and Lake sit at a computer to review the morning practice. Each play is catalogued.

At 12:30 p.m., the defensive staff meets to review the same practice Morris and Lake have just gone over. Coaches pick plays to show players that evening, some for instructional purposes, others purely for fun and motivation.

The afternoon meeting, interrupted by one oatmeal cookie break, lasts until 2:15 p.m. Morris goes back upstairs to get his dirty laundry, back downstairs to get in a van.

"It's Groundhog Day all over again," he said.

The afternoon practice is from 2:45 to 5 p.m., with temperatures on the field typically approaching 110 degrees. Many veterans, such as cornerbacks Ronde Barber and Brian Kelly, take afternoons off, so this session gives Morris valuable time with young players.

"At training camp, all you're doing is teaching football instead of worrying about game planning," said Morris, whose energetic style includes running around and shouting encouragement. "I love that. It's our chance to be real good teachers."

Back at the hotel, Morris takes shower No. 3 before dinner.

"What gets you through camp is the amount of showers you take," he said. "Anytime you're feeling tired, go take a shower."

After dinner, more meetings. Team meetings, offensive and defensive meetings, position meetings. With the lights dimmed, it's a challenge to keep sleepy players interested.

"There are a lot of guys who are great coaches on the grass, but they can't take it into the meeting room," Morris said. "I pride myself right now on stimulating guys in the meeting room, making them want to be there."

Players are dismissed at about 10 p.m., leaving them an hour to relax before curfew. The coaches meet to finalize the next day's practice plan and, now that the team is into its preseason schedule, prepare for the upcoming opponent. Often, meetings last well past 11 p.m.

Coaches, however, have no curfew.

At the end of the day, Morris walks down the block to a local tavern to "take a couple of deep breaths and relax."

After Saturday's game at Jacksonville, the team will return to its Tampa facility for practices, meetings and meals. The days will be just as long for Morris, but not the same.

"I'd rather be at training camp. I'd rather be on the grass," Morris said. "But you have to learn to love to be miserable."

Joanne Korth can be reached at korth@sptimes.com or 727 893-8810.

[Last modified August 15, 2007, 01:36:18]