How Oklahoma Coach Brent Venables Now Shifts Focus to His Game Week Debut

NORMAN — Brent Venables is three days away from his very first sport week as a head soccer coach.

After two extra practices Friday and Saturday, the Sooners report again from their scheduled time without work on Sunday, after which they’ll formally be in sport prep for UTEP subsequent Saturday.

Venables has a deep nicely of information from which to attract, and he’s making an attempt to arrange for each state of affairs — however you may inform he’s nonetheless a bit nervous.

“We’ll get our guys to have a stage of consolation for what to anticipate across the nook,” Venables mentioned after observe Thursday night time. “So we’ll do this tomorrow, every little thing from crew lodge to champion stroll to gameday simulation. So we’ll work on that. Halftime, how we single the alma mater, all these issues shall be rehearsed earlier than we get there subsequent week.

“And there shall be loads of issues that occur and also you’re like, ‘Man, want I woulda considered that.’ You simply study and also you develop, you already know? You’re no completely different than a participant. I’m a freshman. Proper? And I gotta develop up fast.”

Being round Dabo Swinney at Clemson for the earlier decade, and Bob Stoops at OU for the 13 years earlier than that, gave him a basis of information. He is aware of what the group and construction and procedures ought to appear like.

However he’s by no means truly accomplished it himself.

Venables mentioned “you need to” venture what he gleaned from Swinney, Stoops and even possibly a bit Invoice Snyder through the years.

“As I had a gathering with our athletic director — we meet as soon as every week — and I informed him immediately, you form of undergo it that first time,” Venables mentioned. “On the finish of the day, you’ve acquired a script, you’ve acquired a schedule and also you attempt to be detail-oriented. However you gotta undergo it, too. And till you do, it’s by no means the identical. So we’ll attempt to do this like we do every little thing else.”

Venables focus so far has been cut up between program-building and recruiting and observe.

Now he has to navigate actually essentially the most urgent difficulty a coach faces: the best way to greatest get by way of a sport week. There isn’t a room for errors now. The true focus, he mentioned, has been on the every day grind of preseason camp.

“In all probability simply to be how we observe,” he mentioned. “Make it possible for, once more, we don’t crescendo too quickly, that we don’t peak on the mistaken time. That we perceive that you simply gotta pressure ‘em, you gotta get in form, you gotta construct endurance, and develop a toughness and an perspective, however you additionally gotta get your guys to some extent the place they’re recent and wholesome so we are able to play quick and be explosive. So managing that, what you’re feeling, instincts, what your eyes let you know, is a giant a part of that.”