Jaymin Jackson Spring Football Diary, Week 2

Linfield linebacker, Jaymin Jackson, is back to give you his week 2 update on the 2009 Spring Football session. Today starts the last week of spring ball for our Wildcats and Jay will be back one more time next week to recap his final week. Go 'Cats!
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Day 5

Today’s practice was a very intense practice. Both sides were going at each other and there was a lot of talking going on. The offense was going at a no huddle pace for 8-10 plays and it really took practice to another level. Towards the end of the drive, I made a few comments to the offense saying, “were not tired, yall could go ahead and run another 20 plays and you still wouldn’t get us breathing hard.” It was close to 80 degrees outside and you could tell that people were moving very well with the warm weather. It was also good to see the quarterbacks taking some deep shots. On a regular basis the quarterbacks were choosing to throw the deep ball, which was good to see. One thing that put a damper on the deep ball was Bryce and Nate. Those two earned the Nickname “Pelican Bay” because they were on lock down. The running backs are benefiting a lot from coach Smiths new drills and look very good. Another day down, and now it’s time to study.

Day 6

The day started out like all the others. The weather was great and I think the offense was drinking some special water today. It seemed like they were completing every pass. We would be in a great call defensively and have good coverage and they somehow would complete a pass. The offense definitely took it to us today. To our credit, we did a very good job stopping the run during team session. Our young secondary is starting to shake up nicely. We might be young in the secondary but as a group, they are the most athletic group that I have played with in my time here. One thing that got the group laughing was Coach Vaughn. Typically, coach either makes fun of someone or tells a bad joke that the players laugh at. Well, recently coach has been having some back troubles. We were out on the field waiting for the defensive call and we see coach laying down in the end zone. He was signaling in the calls from his stomach. If anyone else was doing it, it wouldn’t be as funny but its coach Vaughn so it got us all laughing. Quick cool down and back to the books.

Day 7

We had another themed practice today. Today was West coast Wednesdays. As I was talking to coach Smith about it, he was under the impression it was going to be board shorts and quicksilver. He was telling me about all these old surfer brands and I was agreeing, but I knew that his idea was different then our idea of West Coast. Coach Fendall game out in a super large jersey and some basketball shorts. To finish off the outfit he has a sideways baseball cap on. He could easily pull this outfit off if he wanted to. His new and improved arms thanks to P90X looked super cut in the jersey. Besides the super gangster outfits, the practice was enjoyable. The D-line is starting to gel and some young players are making a lot of headway. Travis Wong has been very consistent in his play and is looking very solid at the rover position. Coach Rombach has been doing a great job coaching the linebackers while Coach Vaughn is helping out with the D-line. Quick cool down and time to hit the books.

Day 8

I recently turned 21 and somehow my body aged 10 years after that day. I got to practice and I felt like I was 40 years old. I remember the days when I could just put my cleats on and go. Now, I have to do this 10-15min routine to get this old bronco warmed up. Alex and I constantly are talking to each other about when we feel like we are warmed up. I always feel good in the middle of 7 on 7 which is about 45 minutes into practice. At the beginning of practice I am probably running a 5.2 forty and when I feel good, I’m back to my 4.6’s. Coach Rombach is always giving me extra time to get loose and stretch in between drills. When I came in as a freshman with Alex and Paul, we would always hear Cam, Ryan and Coach Rombach complain about this whole getting old thing. I remember saying to myself, “that will never be me.” Well now it is. My body just isn’t what is used to be. It’s sad saying that and I’m only 21. After the joints got warm and the muscles got limber, practice flew by and my focus was on my financial management test. Cats are looking sharp and are taking steps towards the NWC title.

-Jaymin Jackson
Class of 2010