2016 Hawai'i Football Fall Camp
Day 1: Into The Fire: Football Opens 2016 Camp With Strong First Day
Day 2: Football Building The Team Behind The Team
Day 3: Shells On And It's Sweet Home Hawai'i For Football Staff
 

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HONOLULU—Camp rolled on Thursday into day four for the University of Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors football team as the team practiced in shells for the second consecutive day.

The Rainbow Warriors kept pushing forward as the defense pulled ahead with its aggressiveness, striking a big blow in the battle between the units. However, coming down the stretch, the offense made several successful strikes, including a long run from Diocemy Saint Juste and a long pass to Keelan Ewaliko. Peppered throughout the session were multiple conditioning exercises and the morning closed on cross-fields.

Doled out as punishment by many coaches, conditioning has been a separating factor in this year's UH camp. The Warriors have maintained consistent intensity throughout the early days of fall, thanks in large part to the dedication in the summer conditioning program with strength and conditioning coordinator Bubba Reynolds.

Beginning at the start of the spring semester, Reynolds introduced a program that emphasized mobility, flexibility and technique over sheer strength. The benefits began to show in the spring, but have really begun to pay out in the grind that is fall camp.

"The guys look more athletic, we move better, we bend better, we're a lot quicker and faster on the field and these guys really put in the work and genuinely came together," Reynolds said of the current squad. "They care about each other, care about the coaches and care about the state of Hawai'i—I feel these guys just care more about this program and the future more than ever."

By and large, the roster arrived at fall camp intact and healthy, with only a small handful of players still nursing prior injuries. It's impossible to deny the movement and flexibility preached in the conditioning program plays a role in that boost—as each day's effort leaves Reynolds with a raspy voice from continuous player motivation.

"The biggest thing we achieved in the offseason is that most everybody came into camp healthy," senior defensive back Damien Packer said. "Besides the weight gains or losses and gains in strength, the biggest thing we wanted to do was to come to camp healthy. Coach Bubba does a great job of taking care of our bodies. The team as a whole took our past experiences and learned from them. We had a lot of guys go down in past offseasons for reasons that could have been prevented. We did a great job of taking care of our teammates this year."
 
However, it's not just about the new strength program or the staff change. The players have matched the enthusiasm for the program and dove into the new methodology to reap the benefits.

"It's always going to be up to the athlete," Reynolds said. "Everything is all about how they approach their plan and the type of effort that they want to put into their sleep, nutrition and recovery. From strength, to training, to the doctors, we all came together and put it together."

After four days of work, up and down the line players are pushing to the final horn of the day, and it's paying dividends for the coaching staff to get as many reps as possible for every player as new offensive and defensive schemes are installed.

"The new program we're on, Bubba really emphasized the small details like technique and explosion," senior guard Leo Koloamatangi noted. "Resulting from that, a lot of guys are more explosive and mobile, and a lot of guys were just more fresh and loose coming into camp. I think plenty are thanking him now a few days into a hard, heavy camp, because during the summer it was hard with those pain-staking details that got the best of us sometimes."

Even Reynolds finds himself surprised by some of the payoff, seeing the results during two evening weightlifting sessions since the start of camp.

"We had a weight training session last night and I've never seen so much juice from the offense and defense a week into camp," Reynolds said. "They've continued to bring it every single day at practice and continued to bring in in the gym six or seven hours later with great camaraderie—they're coming together at the right time."

Looking beyond the core benefits of the overall energy of the team, the Warriors had a group of players working back from offseason surgery or rehab. Among them are redshirted running back Saint Juste, tight end Dakota Torres, hybrid receiver Davasyia Hagger and medical redshirt safety Trayvon Henderson. Everyone is back and near 100 percent.

"That's his thing, he tells us what we need to do, what we need to eat, how to prepare and how to rest," said Ewaliko, who suffered an injury in the 11th game last year. "He's really knowledgeable about caring for our bodies, because that's really just as important as being in the film room and mentally preparing."

"When I was hurt, with the kind of person he is, he'll take you off to the side and modify movements according to what you can do. He's really detail-oriented and range of motion is so much more important than brute strength. Football's not just about being strong, you've got to be able to move and change direction on a dime," Ewaliko added.

After a little pushback that always comes with change, many players are extremely grateful for how the strength program has helped the squad transform in only a few short months.

"You can see it in our practices," Koloamatangi said. "The first couple of days were a lot for a camp and everybody matched it, came out to play and a lot of that is a testament to what we did over the summer in the program."

The end of the first week of practices approaches, bringing the first day of full pads and full contact with it. The following week kicks off two-a-day practices for the Warriors. These are the times the strength and conditioning program has prepared the team for, setting a work ethic standard that has bled into their approach to practice.

"We notice it on the field and we're not as tired," Packer said. "Bubba really pushed us this offseason and we attacked every day like we were coming out to practice, so the transition was a lot easier when we got out to camp. It's a grind and we've got to attack it every day, but we've been doing that throughout the offseason, so it's nothing new to us."

Next on the schedule for UH is the final shells only date this week, opening at 6:30 a.m. at Cooke Practice Field, setting the stage for Saturday's full pads session to cap off week one.