The Mule Fan

Mules at Spring Training - Volume 2



A Spring Visit with Coach Don Byrd-May 7, 2009


The Mule Fan: Before we talk about spring training, how did the off season program go to this point? Were you pleased with how the workouts went and the kid’s fitness going into spring?

Coach Byrd: Yeah I thought we had a great off-season. I thought boot camp went very well. The players got mentally tough each and every day of that as the season went on. Then we started testing. We didn’t quite get the results we wanted after the first six weeks testing. But with the second six weeks session we really had some great improvements in the weight room. We saw a lot of good things so we’re excited about where we are right now. Now it’s just spending time teaching our kids the game of football.

The Mule Fan: This is the second consecutive year to have spring training after many years of not having it. You obviously liked what you saw last year. It would seem that graduation drives your objectives to some extent year-to-year. But what are you most excited about and what are your principal objectives going into this spring training?

Coach Byrd: Well I’m excited because we have six back on offense. That’s the most we’ve had in a while. So I’m excited to make sure that those six continue to challenge themselves and improve. And then we just need to find out who belongs in what slot; position and JV or Varsity and so forth. They improve a lot in the off season and now this is a great opportunity for us to watch them for three weeks and point out things and then set goals this summer and make sure we give them the best avenue to become the best player they can by next year.

The Mule Fan: What differentiates a spring workout versus what you have in preparation for games come August or September?

Coach Byrd: Well we couldn’t go out in pads this time of year before. We could only work out about 45 minutes in our athletic period. So the neat thing about this is we are not preparing for a game. We don’t have to worry about getting a lot of plays in. We can just put in our basic offense and defense and just teach technique and evaluate personnel. And by not worrying about a game we can spend a little more time with the younger kids and teach them as much as we can and find out where their weaknesses are and again have them set goals this summer and tell them what we need to see out of them come the first practice August 10th.

The Mule Fan: Do you film spring workouts?

Coach Byrd: Yes we film every practice and watch it right afterwards and make a few notes of what we need to work on the next day. Filming is a valuable tool because there are so many players out there and so many of them are moving around. It happens so fast. You do correct a lot of it but sometimes you miss a step here or a person stepping wrong or blocking the wrong person. You can show players what their keys are and what they need to look at.

The Mule Fan: Last year by having spring training you had one less week of workouts than in previous years once you got to August. Did you subconsciously or consciously feel rushed as you prepared for that opening game last year with one less week?

Coach Byrd: No it fell in place pretty nicely. The problem with our first game was Stony Point. They were a good football team and we were very, very young. But we did comment after the first few practices how much retention our players had. Our kids are smart and they take a lot of pride in the program. A lot of things we drilled on so much in the spring they came back and it was very natural to them so we were able to move on. Scheme-wise and getting ready for the first game I don’t think it affected us whatsoever.

The Mule Fan: You’ve got a brand new slab of turf out there. How does everyone like the new field?

Coach Byrd: I love it. But just like the old one though, on hot days with no cloud cover it gets pretty warm so we do go up on the practice field (natural grass) some days. Plus it’s good to change the surfaces every now and then. It’s an outstanding product. They did a great job of installing it. We’re excited about it and can’t wait to get some games going and let everybody see what Alamo Heights has going for them.

The Mule Fan: You started spring ball one day later than you originally intended (being cautious about the flu situation and potential class cancellation). Will you make that up?

Coach Byrd: What I’m going to do this year, and I learned this when I went and visited Baylor and OU, we’re going to have our spring game on the 21st and really shut down a lot of things. But we’re going to come back and work out a little bit after school that last week. We have those days. It might be just 7-on-7 stuff, it might be just individual lineman drills. We won’t stay out there long but we’re going to go ahead and get a few extra days at the end. But I would have loved to have worked out last Friday (May 1st) but in the scheme of things that’s the way it works out. The key to it is not what happens to you but how you react so we’re just going to go on and keep learning more about ourselves each day at practice.

The Mule Fan: So are you saying that after the spring game that you can stay in pads?

Coach Byrd: Right. The rule says we have 30 days to get in 18 practices. Now I don’t know if we’ll be in pads or not but we are allowed as coaches to work with the players after school. So we’re going to take advantage of that somehow, some fashion. With lineman it might just be longer weight sessions after school in the weight room. But we’re going to work with the skill guys, and with 7-on-7 so big we might spend three days just working 7-on-7 drills with our skill guys and see how far we can come along with that. But that’s the plan right now. We’ll just have to wait and see.



We get letters….

Letter to the Editor

Dear Mule Fan: I am President of the Molasses Association of North America. We represent individuals and corporations which make up the molasses industry. Our principal function is to lobby our politicians in congress about key legislative issues related to Molasses and occasionally appear on cooking shows. We've also overseen a couple of really wizzy infomercials. One of our members ran across your little Mule Fan blog and brought your story (see Mule Fan spring blog volume 1 below) to our attention. I can speak for our entire membership when I say that we were deeply offended at your reference to our product as an item used for torture. Molasses is a food product and while we may have had these issues in the past, we are confident in saying that the situation is now relatively under control and has been for many years. We find it unlikely that molasses truly was used on your editors for the purpose you described. Our industry deserves better and expects an apology from you and your Mules. We’ll be watching you guys.

Sincerely yours,
Mr. Itza Stickie
Seal Harbor, Maine