Kingsmen Ready for Retreat

THOUSAND OAKS — While most football teams endure grueling workouts in the summer heat, Cal Lutheran will open its practice with a trip to the beach.

Since Scott Squires became coach two years ago, the Kingsmen have made a habit of taking an early season retreat. In 1996, Cal Lutheran spent three days at a Navy SEALS facility near San Diego. Last year, the Kingsmen bunked down at a camp outside of Big Bear.

This year, Cal Lutheran is headed to Santa Barbara.

Nearly 120 players are expected to report today to fill out paperwork, but beginning Thursday the Kingsmen will spend 2 1/2 days in dormitories at UC Santa Barbara.

Eight senior captains drafted teams for the retreat, which will include creative athletic competition--especially in the water. At night, players will engage in song and skit contests.

“Last year, we were playing this water polo game with a slippery watermelon,” senior defensive back Mattias Wikstrom said. “We’d been in the dirt all day and by the time we left the pool, you could tell we’d been there. There was dirt everywhere. But it’s all a lot of fun.”

Squires patterned the getaways after a similar program at Pacific Lutheran in Tacoma, Wash., where he played linebacker in the 1980s.

“The idea is to bring everybody together,” Squires said. “Make the new guys feel comfortable.

“By the time we get out in practice, everyone knows each other.”

The first trip came as a surprise to the players, who were accustomed to a traditional training camp.

“I was just bamboozled,” senior cornerback Tony Sullivan said.

“I knew we were going to a Navy SEALS base. I thought we were going for conditioning. But it turned out to be a lot of fun. I’m excited to be going back to the beach.”

The Kingsmen will return from the retreat and begin traditional training camp Sunday.

The camaraderie is beginning to pay off.

After finishing 4-5 in Squires’ first year, Cal Lutheran was 5-4 and clinched a share of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title last season.

“[The retreat] is part of our recruiting strategy,” Squires said. “I tell recruits that we’re the most unique football program in the country. This is one reason why.”