Spring Cyclone

The Cyclones super secret weapon - Bubba!

Quarterbacks go through drills

We had the rare privilege to attend a closed ISU football practice/scrimmage yesterday with McKims. Their son Ryan is on the coaching staff again - now as a Graduate Assistant (GA) with the offensive line. That's where he played back when he was in high school. Ryan has a mind and a passion for the game. Head Coach Paul Rhoads saw that when he worked on the staff in operations when Rhoads was hired at ISU. Ry took a year off to try a few months at "real" jobs - banking and then high school coaching in Creston - which he loved. But Coach Rhoads came calling, and somehow he got Ryan's attention.

Ryan looks official with a clipboard

The weather forecast Saturday was partly sunny and 70s. Fail! We dressed for that weather. Practice was in Jack Trice Stadium - in the wind and drizzle. Shivers! It was way cool though - seeing the players up close like that. We stood along the side of the field, first watching the guys go through some drills. Ryan was quite impressive (especially in the eyes of his parents) bossing those big boys around.

Scrimmage

It was easy to tell when the scrimmage started - the guys with the striped shirts (refs) were blowing whistles just like in real games. But it was more controlled  - in situations with the first stringers going against each other and second string D going against second string offense - like that, through third string. A few times the players got up close and personal with us - but we didn't get run over or anything.

AJ Klein #47

A student greeted us for the scrimmage...

There were some other outsiders in attendance - coaches from all over Iowa, including the staff from Creston, where Ryan coached last fall. Paul talked to Steve Shantz - who now coaches at Greenfield. He used to teach Spanish (not all that well, considering neither of my children can speak Spanish) and coach in Creston.

Paul talks (in English) to Steve Shantz

It was a really cool experience. But cold. And we got hungry! It had been a while since any of us had been to Hickory Park, Ames famous restaurant. So off we went. Even though it was mid-afternoon, there was a half hour wait. But it was worth it! I got my usual - smoked turkey on an onion bun (oh so fresh) with mashed potatoes. Paul and I split a sundae for desert - a concoction with hot fudge, almonds and coconut. Heavenly. 5 Moki heads. Sigh.





Ryan and me, surrounded by guy's locker room smells...

Don and Diana had some stuff to deliver to Ryan - and he was done with his duties by then. So we went by the Jake - the Jacobson Building where the football offices and lockerrooms are. So we got a tour! There weren't any young men running around semi-nude, but it was still neat. The facility will be replaced by a new one in just a few months by a state-of-the-art facility. Nothing but the best for our Clones! We had a good time doing what we enjoy - being fans of our team.

ISU's new football facility