Mel Martin of Australia is at The Oakland Raiders Napa Valley Training Complex participating in Training Camp 2009 as part of the Raiders' International Guest Coach program along with coaches from Austria, Spain, Mexico and Sweden.
The camp continues with everyone working hard and the weather is finally getting warmer....(even by Australian standards)...Apart from the obvious difference in the size, speed and talent of the players the most marked difference is the speed of practice. Not a second is wasted. No group is left waiting for a drill to be set up. The players go from one to another seamlessly. Another area is how drills are actually run and why they are run a certain way...Practise organization was high on list of things to check out and I have gained quite an insight from this camp...
...A personal highlight was the opportunity to meet and talk with legendary coach Tom Flores and QB Jim Plunkett both of whom were instrumental in the Raider Super Bowl wins of the early 80s....The Raiders of the early to mid-80s were in a way responsible for me becoming involved the sport of American Football. So without them knowing it these two wonderful gentlemen helped shape my sporting life from 12,000 miles away...
...Cheers
Mel
Go Raiders
