Can You Survive the Grind?

COYOTES RETURN TO WORK: CAN YOU SURVIVE THE GRIND?

(CATHEDRAL CITY) — Only the strong survive.

For the SoCal Coyotes, 17 weeks of practice, dating back to November 2012. Ninety-six hours of individual instruction. Travel of 2,181 miles, as far away as Catalina Island, 26 miles off the coast of California. A support staff of 13 that includes coaches, admin, doctors, chiropractors and trainers.

And roughly 5,180 practice snaps. This kind of grind has reduced an opening day Coyote roster of 58 to 33. Many of those lacked the discipline, sacrifice and accountability to endure the punishing haul.

Under a luminescent full moon, the “surviving” SoCal Coyotes returned to work Tuesday night with little fanfare after Sunday’s 40-8 lunch-bucket playoff road win.

The veteran team routinely went back to the very basics of their nation-leading Run ‘n’ Shoot offense: Repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition. And then, do it again.

All-American quarterback Nate Lewis threw 212 balls, with a specific 100 in 7 on 7, as fleets of Coyote receivers perfected reads in their base Choice, Go, Switch and Delay routes against a wickedly improving — and remarkably smart — SoCal defense.

The team plays again April 14 in the Wild West Football League championship at UNLV, the team’s second title game in consecutive years.

Practice ended with emotional remarks from veterans Brian “Porkchop” Gollnick, David “The Diesel” Cathcart and Cedric Cox.

“Don’t call yourself my teammate and line up next to me,” roared Cox, “if you don’t want this more than anything else in the world.”COYOTES RETURN TO WORK: CAN YOU SURVIVE THE GRIND?

(CATHEDRAL CITY) — Only the strong survive.

For the SoCal Coyotes, 17 weeks of practice, dating back to November 2012. Ninety-six hours of individual instruction. Travel of 2,181 miles, as far away as Catalina Island, 26 miles off the coast of California. A support staff of 13 that includes coaches, admin, doctors, chiropractors and trainers.

And roughly 5,180 practice snaps. This kind of grind has reduced an opening day Coyote roster of 58 to 33. Many of those lacked the discipline, sacrifice and accountability to endure the punishing haul.

Under a luminescent full moon, the “surviving” SoCal Coyotes returned to work Tuesday night with little fanfare after Sunday’s 40-8 lunch-bucket playoff road win.

The veteran team routinely went back to the very basics of their nation-leading Run ‘n’ Shoot offense: Repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition. And then, do it again.

All-American quarterback Nate Lewis threw 212 balls, with a specific 100 in 7 on 7, as fleets of Coyote receivers perfected reads in their base Choice, Go, Switch and Delay routes against a wickedly improving — and remarkably smart — SoCal defense.

The team plays again April 14 in the Wild West Football League championship at UNLV, the team’s second title game in consecutive years.

Practice ended with emotional remarks from veterans Brian “Porkchop” Gollnick, David “The Diesel” Cathcart and Cedric Cox.

“Don’t call yourself my teammate and line up next to me,” roared Cox, “if you don’t want this more than anything else in the world.”COYOTES RETURN TO WORK: CAN YOU SURVIVE THE GRIND?

(CATHEDRAL CITY) — Only the strong survive.

For the SoCal Coyotes, 17 weeks of practice, dating back to November 2012. Ninety-six hours of individual instruction. Travel of 2,181 miles, as far away as Catalina Island, 26 miles off the coast of California. A support staff of 13 that includes coaches, admin, doctors, chiropractors and trainers.

And roughly 5,180 practice snaps. This kind of grind has reduced an opening day Coyote roster of 58 to 33. Many of those lacked the discipline, sacrifice and accountability to endure the punishing haul.

Under a luminescent full moon, the “surviving” SoCal Coyotes returned to work Tuesday night with little fanfare after Sunday’s 40-8 lunch-bucket playoff road win.

The veteran team routinely went back to the very basics of their nation-leading Run ‘n’ Shoot offense: Repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition. And then, do it again.

All-American quarterback Nate Lewis threw 212 balls, with a specific 100 in 7 on 7, as fleets of Coyote receivers perfected reads in their base Choice, Go, Switch and Delay routes against a wickedly improving — and remarkably smart — SoCal defense.

The team plays again April 14 in the Wild West Football League championship at UNLV, the team’s second title game in consecutive years.

Practice ended with emotional remarks from veterans Brian “Porkchop” Gollnick, David “The Diesel” Cathcart and Cedric Cox.

“Don’t call yourself my teammate and line up next to me,” roared Cox, “if you don’t want this more than anything else in the world.”