KENOSHA, Wis. -- It started slowly, with chants of
"Wildcats!" "Wildcats!" echoing among the Northwestern players.
Soon, everyone was chanting and clapping.
As the enthusiasm built, the chant turned into a song. Players
got caught up in the rhythm and started dancing, transforming a mob
of beefy football players into a bobbing troupe.
There is a time for mourning and a time for living. Two weeks to
the day after safety Rashidi Wheeler's death, the Wildcats got on
with living Friday, opening training camp with morning and
afternoon practices.
"There are some guys it's affected more than others, but we're
trying to get focused," said cornerback Raheem Covington, one of
Wheeler's close friends. "I'm glad to be back here so we can focus
on football again. It's been tough, but it's that time."
There were no problems at the two-hour morning practice. Players
wore pads and shorts, and temperatures were only in the high 70s
with a stiff wind blowing. Trainers were all over the field handing
out water, and some players dunked themselves in garbage cans full
of ice and water after practice.
Wheeler, a chronic asthmatic, died Aug. 3 after collapsing
during a preseason conditioning drill. The cause was bronchial
asthma, but his death has raised hard questions by his family and
the university.
His mother claims the university wasn't equipped to deal with
such an emergency, with no oxygen on the field and not enough
medical staff available. The university is investigating the entire
incident, including reports Wheeler took a nutritional supplement
containing ephedrine, a substance banned by the NCAA.
Almost forgotten were his teammates, the young men who were on
the field when Wheeler collapsed and watched him die. They've cried
together, met with grief counselors, attended services for Wheeler
and spent time with their families.
But the best therapy might have been walking onto the practice
field Friday. As he approached the field, linebacker Napoleon
Harris said, "Finally, 'Po has come back to the practice field,"
perhaps summing up what everyone was thinking.
"I don't think anyone wants to talk about the tragedy that's
been going on," Harris said. "I think we all just want to get
on."
There was no sign of grief during practice, no hint this was
anything different than the hundreds of other football practices
taking place around the country.
Players were laughing and smiling, yapping after good plays and
ribbing each other about the bad ones. Coaches bawled players out
for mistakes, not worrying about fragile psyches.
"I thought it was real good," coach Randy Walker said. "Had a
lot of juice, had a lot of enthusiasm. I thought it was pretty
energetic. But these guys, that's the way we practice, that's the
way we work."
Pending the outcome of the university review, Walker has been
ordered not to use the conditioning drill Wheeler was running the
day he died. The drill called for 28 sprints, ranging from 100
yards to 40 yards, with short recovery periods.
But that doesn't mean Walker is changing the way he coaches.
After practice, the players ran their usual conditioning drill.
They did 10, 100-yard sprints, though they had about 45 seconds in
between each run.
As he neared the end zone on the fifth sprint, Harris raised his
arms and pirouetted over the line. The team let out a big cheer
after the sixth run. And with 20 yards to go on the last run,
Harris turned sideways and grapevined into the end zone.
"Just making fun of the test," Harris said. "It was routine
conditioning after practice, nothing too hard. I was just really
trying to get everyone enthused."
Letting loose is what the Wildcats need most now, All-American
running back Damien Anderson said.
"The healing process was helping, but this enables us to focus
on a more positive light and just worry about football," Anderson
said. "Because we know, mind, body and soul, Rashidi's out here."
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