Bryant Young and Morgan Hill resident and former Acorn Jeff
Ulbrich have been showing the Live Oak football team what practice
really means.
Bryant Young and Morgan Hill resident and former Acorn Jeff Ulbrich have been showing the Live Oak football team what practice really means.
The two 49ers have been training with the Live Oak football team this summer often running the drills just as hard as the players.
Ulbrich and Young have been going full speed during the break between training camps at the 49er training facility in Santa Clara. There dedication and hustle has helped inspire others to train at their full potential as well.
“It is a real synergistic thing.” said Live Oak coach Glen Webb. “He (Ulbrich) needed a place to work out. Having guys to do do drills with helps to motivate our players. But he uses it to help motivate himself. That is what type of personality he has. Jeff is a real intense and high-energy individual, who is real humble and willing to give back.”
Receiving the guidance of a pro is something that few young athletes have the privilege to have.
“When I was a player, I never got to play with the pros,” said Live Oak’s Head Coach Glen Webb. “This is special for the players.”
Ulbrich enjoys helping out with his former team and trying to get the team back to a winning season.
He has been encouraged by the performance shown by the team. He said that he wanted to be inspired by the kids and he has been.
“Those kids bust their butts, and they never question what I tell them,” Ulbrich said.
Ulbrich said he needed a break from Santa Clara, where the 49ers have their camp. The team did not return this year to Stockton where they have held the work outs for the past few years. He decided to come home and give the kids an opportunity to see how the pros work.
“It has been fun and it has been good for me,” he said. “The kids have been pushing themselves.”
The workouts started in the beginning of July and ended Friday. Ulbrich ran drills that the team would normally run, according to Bob Hewitt, the coach in charge of the summer workouts.
“Some of the kids came out thinking that they would run some exotic drills,” Hewitt said. “They run the same drills only faster.”
In the beginning, Ulbrich brought out teammate Bryant Young to work with the players as well. He ran the drills along side Ulbrich and help led them.
Ulbrich and Young were always the first ones to begin the drills to show how they were done. Each drill was repeated several times, and the football pros ran through each one along with the players.
“We got a couple guys coming out who are just getting in shape to play Pop Warner,” Webb said. “Their eyes are big as saucers.”
The kids were told that Ulbrich was there to work out, not chat. It became evident as the month went on that not all of the players there had that in mind.
When Ulbrich started, there were between 20 and 30 kids there. That number has dropped almost in half at the conclusion of the workout.
“The kids who wanted to rap with the pros are gone,” Hewitt said.
The players at the camp saw this as a great opportunity. While some had come to the work out session hoping to be with a professional football player, those who remained felt this was a great learning experience.
“I don’t see him as a pro, just a friend,” said Live Oak football player Dustin Vertin.
Ulbrich worked the kids hard, but the players and coaches felt that the hard work will pay off.
“The work out was intense,” said Acorn Johnie Ramirez. “We’ll be faster this year. It’s hard work, but (Ulbrich) has been there; he can relate to us.”
There are several players returning this year.
“As bad as our record was last year, we were in every game enough to be able to tip the scales and win,” Webb said.”
The player’s work ethic this summer has been great, Webb said. There is more than 100 kids have come out to work, which is higher than usual.
“We won’t know the results until we put the pads on,” Hewitt said, “But out strength is better.”
The players will take some good lessons from this experiences.
“It was pretty fun,” Ivan Villa said. “There was a lot of good work and good fundamental stuff.”
Like the football team, Ulbrich expects to improve on last year. He had a bad knee to start the season and finished with a bad shoulder. He says that he feels good and is looking forward to the next season.
“I’m starting to feel healthy,” he said. “The team looks good, and they have a great chance to be better than last year.
The Live Oak team will be receiving its equipment in the next two weeks.
“We have a highly motivated group,” he said. “Everyone is working hard and is very eager of the season.”
Webb said that the team is still coming together, and he is working with those who are competing in other sports.
Last year the team had one of its worst seasons when it failed to win a game. Webb is counting on the experience learned from last season and the work put in this summer to elevate the team to success.
“We have a stronger team than last year,” said Hewitt. “We’ll have a good group coming out to play.
