Photo: File photo
While players in the National Football League are questioning whether they will be playing football in the near future, Drake’s football players are back in action with the spring football season underway.
Drake’s spring season began on March 23. The 15 practice sessions will last for a month and conclude on April 23 with the team’s spring game. During spring practice, the team is looking to find ways to work better together, to gel as a team, and to try new players in new positions.
“Spring is time where all the ideas you’ve written on napkins and talked to people about, you actually get to put them into practice,” head coach Chris Creighton said.
The spring season is also a key time for players who do not often get much playing time to gain more experience on the field.
“It’s definitely a big change because the younger guys are normally on the scout teams,” freshman Mike Kremske said. “But now we get to fill the roles on some of the other teams.”
Creighton said that he already knew the freshman class was talented, and he’s excited about the group.
The overall goal of the spring football season is to improve as a team in order to prepare for next fall’s season. According to Kremske, the spring season is “a way to set yourself and to see how you’ll do in the fall when the season comes around.”
This year’s spring season is different than those in the past because of the team’s trip to Africa in May. Drake will compete in the Global Kilimanjaro Bowl in Tanzania on May 21 against the CONADEIP All-Stars from Mexico. Despite such an important upcoming event, the team is staying focused on getting some fine-tuning done during this spring season.
“Although there’s a lot going on in terms of spring practice and meetings and such, none of that is geared toward the Africa trip,” Creighton said.
The team is looking to use this spring season along with their experience in Africa to make them even stronger in the season to come.
“Along with literally climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, symbolically as a team we want to continue to grow and climb to the top, which is ultimately being Pioneer Football League champs and beyond,” Kremske said.
