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BAILEY'S
TAKE ON PIRATE SPORTS
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From the
Anchor Desk
Tuesday, August 3,
2010
By Brian
Bailey |
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Ladies get a
jump on football season
By
Brian Bailey
©2010 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
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Ruffin McNeill |
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In her column "The
Bradsher Beat,"
Bonesville.net's
Bethany Bradsher
gives the blow-by-
blow account of
the Pirate Football
Women's Clinic. |
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It’s finally here.
Football practice kicks
off at East Carolina on Thursday.
Ruffin McNeill likes to
remind everyone that this isn’t his first camp. It is, however, his
first as a head coach, and I imagine the excitement will build for him
personally all this week.
Coach McNeill and the rest
of the staff hosted the sixth annual “Pirate Football Women’s Clinic”
this past Saturday.
From all indications, it
was a huge success as 370 women attended this year’s event, making it
the largest in the six years the clinic has been conducted.
I didn’t get a chance to
drop by this year’s deal, but I talked to several ladies who did
participate. All raved about the clinic.
One participant liked the
new quarterback. Another bragged on getting through all of the drills.
Everyone I talked to really enjoyed their day.
From the looks at some of
the video, some of the ladies look like they could play on Saturday.
Many put some great licks on the tackling dummies! Coach Ruff was
reportedly checking on the eligibility status of some of the
participants.
Linebacker Steve Spence
was a popular player at the clinic.
“I do this in my spare
time,” said Spence. “They want to be real Pirates and so they are out
here doing this.”
Spence and the rest of the
squad have put the work in all summer. Now is the time for that work to
pay dividends.
After a couple of
workouts, the Pirates will host “Media Day” on Saturday. This will be my
26th such event and I have enjoyed each and every one of them.
That first meeting with
the media is usually that first weekend, before the practice schedule
kicks in. I use it to try and make sure that I meet all of the assistant
coaches and any of the players that might make news this season that I
hadn’t met before.
Each year, many of us in
the media dub one Pirate as “Mr. Sound Bite.” He’s the guy that will
give you a great quote every time.
C.J. Wilson was my guy
last year. Some of the past guys have included Ellis Dillahunt and B.J.
Crane (that’s a little indication on how long I’ve been here).
This year that honor will
most likely go to Steve Spence. Spence has a great smile and an
infectious personality. He hasn’t yet found a microphone that he doesn’t
like.
As for the start of
practice, look for things to develop quickly.
With two conference games
to start the season, it will be imperative to get the starters the most
reps possible in the early going.
I really enjoy covering
camp. We don’t get the chance to go out every day, but there certainly
is a story every single practice. Jobs are on the line. Playing time is
at stake. With so much newness in the program, every second on the
practice field will be vital this month.
It’s hard to believe that
the season opener is just over a month away.
There are about 370 ladies
around town chomping at the bit to get started.
They at least got a taste
this past weekend!
BB
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09/04/2010 02:01 AM |
