For the Ducks, Fall Camp began on February 28 with a team meeting at Dan Lanning's house. He brought them together and said, "I want you to think about the last two months and how you've used them. In your mind, you know, scale of 1 to 10, where do you fall?"
"Have you made an unbelievable commitment to being the best version of yourself, to making this team the best it could be?"
Scott Anderson and the Oregon video team released episode one of "Under Construction" this year's video series for Oregon Fall Camp, entitled "Foundation."
It offers an in-depth, up-close look at the process and philosophy Dan Lanning employs to teach and develop his players. You see the hard work and the honed bodies, the message they share, how they interact and grow.
At his heart Dan Lanning is a teacher, the son of two teachers, and everything he does as a coach stems from a unified message of connection, a growth mindset, knowing your why, purpose, effort and embracing what's hard.
"Foundation" tells the story far better than mere words. In the competition and intensity the Ducks bring to practice, in the attentive faces, the open notebooks and the open hearts viewers witness in the meetings, the message is that this is a team ready to become the best version of themselves.
The brief glimpses of their personal stories, like Ashton Porter losing his mother, remind us that these are young people with an incredible commitment not only to their dream but to the people that brought them to Eugene to pursue it.
They want to succeed for more than just the money and the glory, but for their families and each other.