THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2015
You've got to hand it to those athletes that are getting ready for the fall sports season right now.
Dealing with the heat - no problem.
Having to wake up before 10 a.m. to get to an early morning practice - done and done.
Dealing with the smoke coming from countless wildfires in the area - they've done that too.
CONDITIONS HAVEN'T been that great in the last week since a brief lightning storm hit the area on Thursday, resulting in a number of fires in the surrounding area.
Some teams, like the Coeur d'Alene High and Lake City High boys soccer teams have been going earlier in the day, starting with workouts at 8 a.m., before the weather gets too bad.
"We haven't had a problem yet," Lake City coach Chad Beadell said. "We've been going early in the morning, giving them a couple of hours off, then back for another practice. We want them done before 2 p.m., and not working out during the heat of the day."
Coeur d'Alene coach Jeff Lake said that Tuesday was the worst day for smoke around practice for his squad.
"Last Friday, it was kind of brutal," Lake said. "But the boys have been responding well to the smoke. They've kept conditioning and working hard as a group to get through it."
The first matches of the season are scheduled for Saturday when Coeur d'Alene hosts Sandpoint at noon. Lake City opens with Sandpoint at home on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
A LITTLE further from home, a handful of former Coeur d'Alene football players are trying to fit in at the next level in their new homes.
Gunnar Amos, the son of Coeur d'Alene coach Shawn Amos, is in his first year in the Vandals program after greyshirting last year.
"Every day is a grind," said Shawn Amos said of Gunnar's early fall camp experience. "Some days are better than others and he's going through being the young guy in the program."
Idaho opens the season Sept. 3 at home against Ohio.
"He thinks the program is heading in the right direction," Shawn Amos said. "They're making him the best player he can be. He loves football and is doing what he was meant to do."
After three years in Moscow, two as the starting quarterback, Chad Chalich has moved on to Montana, where he's in a three-man battle for the starting job.
"He loves it out there," Amos said of Chalich. "He's very happy where he's at and he thinks he's making some strides."
Montana opens the season on Aug. 29 against North Dakota State in Missoula. That game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.
"When you're the No. 2 quarterback (on the depth chart) in college football, you're going to play at some point," Amos said. "He really likes the university and is having a great experience right now."
Others expected to see time on the field this year will be Deon Watson, who has played the last two years at Idaho as a receiver before moving to tight end this year; Matt James, who is in the mix to start at right tackle heading into its season opener at Boise State - which boasts Chase Blakley (redshirt freshman tight end) and Drew Berger (freshman linebacker) on its roster.
Lake City High graduate Alec Johnson, who played on the soccer team the last two years at North Idaho College, has been added to the roster at Gonzaga, according to Beadell.
HOW MUCH or how little each of them play in the coming weeks will be determined as these fall camps begin to close and school begins again.
With the conditions most have dealt with, they will have earned everything they get.
Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d'Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JEPressSports.