This week I should be returning to play with my teammates. It is going to be a very short week after suffering a comeback loss to the Sabercats last Saturday. Orlando will be looking for their own revenge after losing to us in overtime at their place. We have not made any transactions, but they have lost two guys to injury over the last two weeks. I prepared film for todays practice and broke-down the game versus the Sabercats for us to evaluate.
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In previous weeks the walk through has been a combination day, of day three/redzone and final adjustments. Coming off a Friday game last week heading into the Saturday game this week the Gladiators was able to get in extra practice. The walk-through is a dress rehearsal with the travel team allowing them to casually visualize and practice their game reps. The Coaches have a more subtle approach allowing more situations to be talked out over constant conditioning. Traveling to the west coast is normally beneficial to eastern time zone teams because they gain 3 hours of time, however its also a disadvantage to east coast team when considering the start time of games. For example, home games typically start at 7pm, but in traveling to the west their 7pm start time is equivalent to a 10pm start time for the Gladiators. I am sure there will be an early bed check. I will not be traveling with the team this weekend. Day three we focused on the redzone area. I did the film breakdown for meetings. I learned more information about team travel pertaining to how group tickets are reserved. Today we signed a free agent who was once with us in training camp. His addition caused for another player to be placed on a reserve list. I was unaware rather or not the traveling roster was set. After I was advised that it was already set I questioned if there were any last minute changes how that may affect team travel. I was informed that unless there is an addition on the number of tickets, any issue with names can simply be substituted.
Day 2 preparation focuses on mid-field as usual. Today the social media team posted a three minute highlight from last weeks victory against the Voodoo. All efforts to encourage fan support for the Gladiators to be road warriors. Below is the highlight.
This week the Gladiators prepare to face the juggernaut out west. The San Jose Sabercats have won the most AFL championships in arena history. As of the last 4 season the Arizona Rattlers have represented for their conference, however the Sabercats have made some significant transactions thus far. This weeks scouting reports highlights their offensive threats and their tough defense. They currently have the best defense in the AFL and are also undefeated. Some sources believe that the matchup this week may be a preview of the 2015 Arena Bowl. Other duties for the day were game breakdown of the most recent three games.
Today we revealed the the jersey the players will wear for Military Appreciation Night at The Q. Its a camouflage jersey with the team colors (red, black and white). Gladiators fans will have the opportunity to bid on each jersey. The bids take place in a blind auction and it will occur throughout the game. All bidders will find out if they won their jersey at the conclusion of the third quarter. Other duties were for the day consisted of film breakdown in the red zone and oversight of social media.
The Marketing team for the Cavaliers Operating Co. spend a great deal of time working with athletes throughout the season. Social media wise they are constantly feeding the fans with new updates. Sports are very patriotic evident with the National Anthem being performed before every contest, as well as saluting the American Flag. Soon there will be a big reveal for the team uniforms this week, but strategically we are going to make special announcements leading up to the contest.
Back to normal activities at the APAC facility. Mid-field film breakdown of the Voodoo this week. Normally we only look at the most recent three games of the opponent, however since this is our second matchup versus the Voodoo, I had to also breakdown our first game. The Voodoo have been having some issues this season evident by their transactions. They are signing and releasing a lot of players trying to develop a stronger team. This weekend the Gladiators will be honoring the military, and will be revealing alternate uniforms for the game. |