Coach plans for serious Shock
Spokane Shock coach Chris Siegfried has a message for the 30-plus players who will gather for a team meeting today on the eve of the start of training camp.
“Party time is over and they’re here to work,” said Siegfried, previewing the first point he wants to get across to the players. “A lot of guys have had an opportunity to get to know me. I’m going to tell them, ‘I’ll be buddies with you, that’s fine, but that’s going to have no bearing on what happens Monday morning.’ They’re not going to see a different guy, but they’re going to see a more serious person.
“I take my job very seriously and they’re going to find that out.”
In return, Siegfried will start finding out what he has to work with when the players gather at 9 a.m. Monday for the arenafootball2 expansion team’s initial practice. Siegfried expects about 30 or 31 players on hand. Four players have excused absences – one is up for jury duty, one has a family emergency, one has a pro-day workout and another has a CFL workout.
After Wednesday’s practice, Spokane must pare its roster to 30. By March 25, five days before the season opener against Stockton in the Arena, the Shock will be at the league-mandated 22-man active roster.
Siegfried’s other message for Shock hopefuls: They will determine if they make the roster.
“I tell guys all the time that my goal is not to make roster decisions,” Siegfried said. “The performance on the field makes roster decisions for me. We’ve got three really talented quarterbacks. It’s a matter of one of them stepping up come Monday. Over the course of that first week somebody is going to separate themselves from the pack and that’s true at every position.
“Usually, the decisions are pretty obvious, but there should be some interesting position battles. We have some good talent, but a lot of it is new to the game.”
Siegfried, who calls his offensive plays, will closely monitor quarterbacks J.J. Raterink, Brian Zbydniewski and Joe Wiser. Siegfried’s playbook consists of 122 pages, but he doesn’t consider it a complicated system. Af2 offenses have fewer formations than in college or pro football.
“In 2002 I started with two rookies, and then we got a veteran (quarterback),” Siegfried said. “This is the first time I won’t have a lot of experience at the position, but I feel they’ll pick it up quickly.”
Spokane has several af2 veterans, including ex-Washington State Cougar Nian Taylor, Corey Taylor, Rob Keefe and ex-Eastern Washington Eagle Anthony Griffin, but its roster will lack the experience of established franchises.
“This will be the third (af2) expansion team I’ve coached, including one as an offensive coordinator,” Siegfried said. “I considered last year (with South Georgia) an expansion team because the only existing things were pretty much the field and equipment. Out of those three, (Macon) was the 2001 expansion team of the year and the only expansion team to qualify for the playoffs. Cape Fear (in 2002) went 13-3 and was the No. 1 seed in the playoffs and last year we were horrible.”
Notes
Season-ticket sales surpassed 2,600 earlier this week, tops in the league, according to Shock majority owner Brady Nelson. The Florida Firecats are about 150 behind Spokane. Single-game tickets go on sale Tuesday. … Shock games will be carried on 105.7-FM, Nelson said. Larry Weir will handle play-by-play with Paul Sorensen serving as analyst. … Spokane’s uniforms are expected to arrive next week.