MBB HOKIES 17-18 | MEDIA GUIDE

A staple of any Buzz Williams program is “Boot Camp”—a mix of anticipation, preparation, and intensity all wrapped into a series of sessions that begin prior to the official start of practice. The sessions focus on a set of various workouts to help prepare the players to become better teammates and battle through all the obstacles placed before them. The Boot Camp sessions, most coming early in the morning before the sun rises, are only counted as complete if every participating member finishes every drill. The Hahn Hurst Basketball Practice Center becomes a training ground that has little to do with basketball after Coach Buzz Williams huddles with the team. The baskets and scoreboard simply become part of drills that ultimately involve no real basketball, but rather a football. Every single activity has a purpose that could, at some point, carry over to a game situation. The court lines become mile markers in a race to the finish, and at times, the baseline serves as a sanctuary of rest and relaxation … for what feels like the shortest 48 seconds of a player’s life until it is time to line up and attack again. Through all this activity, there truly is a progression of the players during each session. Players witness who can thrive in chaos, those who are willing to step up and those who may need a little more attention. Most importantly, players see the level of teamwork being developed and the rewards of completing the session. The players form a tighter bond, a new level of trust, and a shared focus of the goal they are all trying to achieve. When they cross the finish line for the last time, they feel a combination of gratitude and fulfillment. Yes, they are thrilled to be done with the sessions designed to push them to their physical and mental limits, but now, each player comes out stronger then ever before. Whatever obstacles are placed in front of them from this point forward become minimal in regards to what they achieve together as a team. B O O T C A M P @VT_MBBall @vthokiembb VTMBBALL 28