TicketsBy Bill Koch
GoBEARCATS.com
WEST HARRISON, Ind. – The University of Cincinnati football team has been making the trek to the Higher Ground Retreat Center here for 19 years. The Bearcats first made the trip under head coach Rick Minter. Since then, Mark Dantonio, Brian Kelly, Butch Jones, Tommy Tuberville and now Luke Fickell have all followed suit.
The idea is to get away from the distractions of campus life and the city to bond as teammates and focus on football for two weeks, with the exception of last weekend when the Bearcats returned to Nippert Stadium for a Saturday night scrimmage and then had a day off Sunday before returning to camp.
"It gives us an incredible advantage," Fickell said, "the things we couldn't do on campus, to be away, even the different scenery. You go through spring ball on campus. To get away from that really gives them the idea that this is different. And it is different. The preparation to win games and to play for championships has got to be something different. So I think this is a great change for us."
As a reporter who has covered UC football for many years, I've been asked frequently if I stayed at Higher Ground for the entire two weeks of camp. The answer has always been a quick and resounding no. I make the 25-mile drive each day, watch practice for awhile, do my interviews and drive back home.
But in a clever attempt at humor earlier this week, I asked Fickell if there would be a room for me if I really wanted to stay.
"We've got some still open in the lodge over there," Fickell said, "but if you want to be part of the program you've got to start out in the bunks. We've got plenty of bunks if you really need one. We'll see how invested you want to be."
I've seen the bunks and I'm sure it came as no surprise to Fickell that I don't want to be that invested, even if it might make this a better story. So I figured the next best way to get a feel for what camp is like for the players is to ask them. If that's taking the easy way out, I plead guilty.
Let's start with senior safety Carter Jacobs.
"Being out here for two weeks, the first week you kind of get in the zone," Jacobs said. "You're out in the middle of nowhere. You don't really have good cell phone reception. Most of the time we're really in a lot of meetings. It's all football.
"It can get overwhelming at times for some guys, but to be honest it's what we need. These are the two weeks that we have to get better. My first season out here as a freshman you're in a bunkhouse. It's kind of hard at times when you've got guys that can't go to sleep and you've got guys being loud and having their routines for going to sleep and playing music. But it helps you bond with the guys. It helps you to get closer to everyone else and I think that's the way to win championships and games."
Most of the players' days are tightly structured with practice, treatment, meals and meetings, but they do get some time for themselves. The problem is that, being so secluded, they don't have a lot of options.
"When I get some free time, even it's only an hour or an hour and a half, I'll definitely sleep or I'll go to my friends' room and hang out," said junior defensive tackle Cortez Broughton. "But this year they told us no X-boxes, no games. It's just football."
That's not a huge problem for offensive lineman Korey Cunningham.
"The first day out here I went swimming in the creek," Cunningham said. "Some nights when we get done early I'll go down to the creek and do a little fishing. I caught about five, nothing too big. I throw 'em back. I don't have a skillet out here. And the other night coach Fick took the seniors up there and we all zip-lined, so that was a real good experience.
"You've got to drive through the practice, drive through the meetings and everything. Sometimes it kind of gets depressing being out here. You start wondering what the outside world looks like. You get tired of seeing everybody every day. But for me, I like looking at the deer. At nighttime, you get to see deer on the field and you get to bond with your teammates. That's how you get through it, bonding with your teammates and driving through every day."
Fishing isn't an option for senior cornerback Grant Coleman, skillet or no skillet.
"I don't fish," Coleman said. "I don't even know how to fish. But we do have fun."
Sometimes the players play cards or sit in their rooms with their friends. One night, Coleman said, some of them played charades and Pictionary.
"I got to draw coach Fick," he said. "I'm not the best artist. I drew him with big hands and I drew a tattoo on his leg and then I had a C-paw on his chest. They got it."
Camp is understandably harder on freshmen who experience it for the first time and don't know what to expect.
"The first time I came out here I was lost, to be honest," Cunningham said. "I'm from Alabama. I came out here and I was a 225-pound defensive end. I kind of got down. I didn't know how to cope with everything. You've got to look at the older guys who have been coming out here for five years and just follow in their footsteps and see how they get through it. You just have to stay strong with your mind. You've got to know how when you're out of meetings when you're out of practice how to go to your room and get away for a little bit."
Coleman also struggled during his first trip to Higher Ground.
"I hit a wall my freshman year," he said. "They told me all freshmen go through it. High school camp is not the same as being out here at college camp. Being out here for so long, it's like you feel like you've got something like writer's block, but it's players' block. You just look forward to something to improve on each day and that's what keeps you going. It's not so much physical, but mental because you know where you're gonna be and you know what you're gonna be doing. You're competing with yourself. The biggest part is just finding that little detail to improve on every day to take that next step forward."
The two-week camp has been an adjustment for Fickell, too. He misses his family, but he tries to take it in stride.
"It does allow us to truly focus on the things we're doing," Fickell said. "And really, what's the difference if you're driving 20 minutes to get home or if you're on campus when you're getting home at midnight and leaving again at 5:30 in the morning? The good thing is you only have to walk 100 yards to go to bed and walk 100 yards to get up and get going in the morning."
Fickell doesn't have much free time. He's too busy preparing the practice regimen for the next day, among a myriad of other responsibilities. When I asked him if he ever has time to relax late at night and maybe a read a book, he said, "If I tried to read a book, I'd probably fall asleep."
The UC coach said he likes the food, especially the variety. Asked what his favorite is he said, "Everybody says the steaks, but I'm not sure it's not the dumplings and the pie. Between that and Rice Krispie treats and peanut butter bars, with the desserts, we're probably gonna have some guys that gain 20 pounds while they're out here."
The final camp for Jacobs and the rest of the seniors is quickly winding down. The Bearcats start classes Monday. Jacobs says he might even miss the experience "a little bit" next summer.
"It's a good time to really get close to a lot of dudes," he said. "I mean, these are the guys that are gonna be in your wedding. These are the guys who are gonna be close to you forever."
Bill Koch covered UC athletics for 27 years – 15 at The Cincinnati Post and 12 at The Cincinnati Enquirer – before joining the staff of GoBearcats.com in January, 2015.
GoBEARCATS.com
WEST HARRISON, Ind. – The University of Cincinnati football team has been making the trek to the Higher Ground Retreat Center here for 19 years. The Bearcats first made the trip under head coach Rick Minter. Since then, Mark Dantonio, Brian Kelly, Butch Jones, Tommy Tuberville and now Luke Fickell have all followed suit.
The idea is to get away from the distractions of campus life and the city to bond as teammates and focus on football for two weeks, with the exception of last weekend when the Bearcats returned to Nippert Stadium for a Saturday night scrimmage and then had a day off Sunday before returning to camp.
"It gives us an incredible advantage," Fickell said, "the things we couldn't do on campus, to be away, even the different scenery. You go through spring ball on campus. To get away from that really gives them the idea that this is different. And it is different. The preparation to win games and to play for championships has got to be something different. So I think this is a great change for us."
As a reporter who has covered UC football for many years, I've been asked frequently if I stayed at Higher Ground for the entire two weeks of camp. The answer has always been a quick and resounding no. I make the 25-mile drive each day, watch practice for awhile, do my interviews and drive back home.
But in a clever attempt at humor earlier this week, I asked Fickell if there would be a room for me if I really wanted to stay.
"We've got some still open in the lodge over there," Fickell said, "but if you want to be part of the program you've got to start out in the bunks. We've got plenty of bunks if you really need one. We'll see how invested you want to be."
I've seen the bunks and I'm sure it came as no surprise to Fickell that I don't want to be that invested, even if it might make this a better story. So I figured the next best way to get a feel for what camp is like for the players is to ask them. If that's taking the easy way out, I plead guilty.
Let's start with senior safety Carter Jacobs.
"Being out here for two weeks, the first week you kind of get in the zone," Jacobs said. "You're out in the middle of nowhere. You don't really have good cell phone reception. Most of the time we're really in a lot of meetings. It's all football.
"It can get overwhelming at times for some guys, but to be honest it's what we need. These are the two weeks that we have to get better. My first season out here as a freshman you're in a bunkhouse. It's kind of hard at times when you've got guys that can't go to sleep and you've got guys being loud and having their routines for going to sleep and playing music. But it helps you bond with the guys. It helps you to get closer to everyone else and I think that's the way to win championships and games."
Most of the players' days are tightly structured with practice, treatment, meals and meetings, but they do get some time for themselves. The problem is that, being so secluded, they don't have a lot of options.
"When I get some free time, even it's only an hour or an hour and a half, I'll definitely sleep or I'll go to my friends' room and hang out," said junior defensive tackle Cortez Broughton. "But this year they told us no X-boxes, no games. It's just football."
That's not a huge problem for offensive lineman Korey Cunningham.
"The first day out here I went swimming in the creek," Cunningham said. "Some nights when we get done early I'll go down to the creek and do a little fishing. I caught about five, nothing too big. I throw 'em back. I don't have a skillet out here. And the other night coach Fick took the seniors up there and we all zip-lined, so that was a real good experience.
"You've got to drive through the practice, drive through the meetings and everything. Sometimes it kind of gets depressing being out here. You start wondering what the outside world looks like. You get tired of seeing everybody every day. But for me, I like looking at the deer. At nighttime, you get to see deer on the field and you get to bond with your teammates. That's how you get through it, bonding with your teammates and driving through every day."
Fishing isn't an option for senior cornerback Grant Coleman, skillet or no skillet.
"I don't fish," Coleman said. "I don't even know how to fish. But we do have fun."
Sometimes the players play cards or sit in their rooms with their friends. One night, Coleman said, some of them played charades and Pictionary.
"I got to draw coach Fick," he said. "I'm not the best artist. I drew him with big hands and I drew a tattoo on his leg and then I had a C-paw on his chest. They got it."
Camp is understandably harder on freshmen who experience it for the first time and don't know what to expect.
"The first time I came out here I was lost, to be honest," Cunningham said. "I'm from Alabama. I came out here and I was a 225-pound defensive end. I kind of got down. I didn't know how to cope with everything. You've got to look at the older guys who have been coming out here for five years and just follow in their footsteps and see how they get through it. You just have to stay strong with your mind. You've got to know how when you're out of meetings when you're out of practice how to go to your room and get away for a little bit."
Coleman also struggled during his first trip to Higher Ground.
"I hit a wall my freshman year," he said. "They told me all freshmen go through it. High school camp is not the same as being out here at college camp. Being out here for so long, it's like you feel like you've got something like writer's block, but it's players' block. You just look forward to something to improve on each day and that's what keeps you going. It's not so much physical, but mental because you know where you're gonna be and you know what you're gonna be doing. You're competing with yourself. The biggest part is just finding that little detail to improve on every day to take that next step forward."
The two-week camp has been an adjustment for Fickell, too. He misses his family, but he tries to take it in stride.
"It does allow us to truly focus on the things we're doing," Fickell said. "And really, what's the difference if you're driving 20 minutes to get home or if you're on campus when you're getting home at midnight and leaving again at 5:30 in the morning? The good thing is you only have to walk 100 yards to go to bed and walk 100 yards to get up and get going in the morning."
Fickell doesn't have much free time. He's too busy preparing the practice regimen for the next day, among a myriad of other responsibilities. When I asked him if he ever has time to relax late at night and maybe a read a book, he said, "If I tried to read a book, I'd probably fall asleep."
The UC coach said he likes the food, especially the variety. Asked what his favorite is he said, "Everybody says the steaks, but I'm not sure it's not the dumplings and the pie. Between that and Rice Krispie treats and peanut butter bars, with the desserts, we're probably gonna have some guys that gain 20 pounds while they're out here."
The final camp for Jacobs and the rest of the seniors is quickly winding down. The Bearcats start classes Monday. Jacobs says he might even miss the experience "a little bit" next summer.
"It's a good time to really get close to a lot of dudes," he said. "I mean, these are the guys that are gonna be in your wedding. These are the guys who are gonna be close to you forever."
Bill Koch covered UC athletics for 27 years – 15 at The Cincinnati Post and 12 at The Cincinnati Enquirer – before joining the staff of GoBearcats.com in January, 2015.