By Brittany Lauro and Brooke Biolo | Editor and International News Editor–
You put on your Under Armour workout gear, tie up those neon Nike sneakers and saunter over to Rodgers Recreational to get your workout on. However, upon arrival, 100 or so unfamiliar faces greet you at the entrance; more faces than Rodgers sees in an entire month. No, Salve hasn’t had a spontaneous surge of incentive to get fit. Rather, everyone was itching to catch a glimpse of the NBA team in green. That’s right, the Celtics held their annual fall training camp at Rodgers last week, leaving the rest of us eager to catch them in action.
The Celtics were in full gear when press entered the gym on Tuesday, having endured not one, but two practices that day. The first was a 50-minute session consisting of offensive training while the second lasted approximately two hours, focusing more on defense.
“It’s the way that I’ve always done it,” says head coach, Brad Stevens. “I think it’s a good way because you can break down the day into shorter segments and hopefully retain more.”
It may be Steven’s first year with the Celtics, but he’s not letting that intimidate him. The 36-year-old former basketball player is revered for his coaching skills tailored to precision and the art of maintaining a hearty long-term vision.
“The only thing I’m thinking about right now is we have practices three and four tomorrow, and I have to go back and write them up,” Stevens told press on Tuesday. “That’s all I’m thinking about, and that’s just the way it goes. I don’t know when I lost my fandom and it became more of a job, but it did at one point.”
On the third day of the team’s training camp, Steven’s optimism was notably high, as he admitted he has “never been happier in the first three days of practice.” As a result of new talent on the team, Stevens believes the Celtic’s current goal is to work towards building chemistry by facing challenges together.
Stevens wasn’t the only one with high spirits, however. Towards the end of Thursday’s practice, the team exhibited a great deal of enthusiasm, cheering each other on during whole-court shooting, passing drills, and working hard in order to maintain a successful season. They wound down their final practice, led by strength and conditioning coach Bryan Doo, with deep stretching using resistance bands. Teammates then gathered in a huddle with their arms on each other’s backs. Even after a long and enduring practice, the team still managed to show their enthusiasm with a step-clap dance while singing “Happy Birthday” to teammate Courtney Lee, who celebrated his 27th birthday on the Oct. 3.
With spirits high and game faces on, the Celtics leave Salve Regina to take on the NBA this season.
