Warriors football wraps first day of practice

WINONA, Minn. (KTTC) – It’s that time of year. Football season 2023 is upon us. NFL Training Camp is already underway, and now student-athletes put on the helmets for the first time in the 2023 season for Winona State.

“It’s the best. It’s the best time of year for sure, and this is the best day of fall camp because this is today, and it’s the best being out here with our guys,” said head coach Brian Bergstrom. “It’s my favorite thing.”

It was the first practice of the season. Perfection would have been a poor expectation. Coach Bergstrom’s one word to describe practice today: sloppy.

“It’s day one. Day one mistakes are going to happen,” mentioned Clay Schueffner. “Day one stuff is going to happen. We’re trying to correct those mistakes so on gamedays they’re you know not there anymore.”

The Warriors finished second in the NSIC South Division (8-4, 8-3 NSIC). Internally as a team, their expectations are higher than last season, and it showed today.

Coach Bergstrom detailed why he chose sloppy as his one-word description, “I try to be from my heart and my gut reaction after and that was the one word that I summed it up because we do gotta be better.”

However, Bergstrom didn’t only say the players were sloppy. Offensive and defensive units were sloppy, and position coaches were sloppy at times, even including himself too.

“That’s the type of guy Coach Bergie is,” stated Schueffner. “You know, he’s the head guy. He’s the head honcho. He’s gonna lead from the front you know, not from the back. That’s the way he is, and if he owns something up, you know that means you can look in the mirror and own something up as well as a player.

The football field symbolizes the battleground. Warriors’ culture and tradition create accountability.

“But E tan, E epi tas on the shield means to come home with it or come home on it and that means to give everything we got to win the game, and in battle, it means to come home with your shield or come home on your shield dying in honor, and we’re figuratively doing it every day,” said Bergstrom.

The Warriors’ first “battle” of the 2023 season is August 31, at Saginaw Valley State.

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