Players Mentioned
Ladies take over Paulson Stadium for Women’s Football Clinic
8/13/2015 8:24:00 PM | Football
Over 200 faithful attend inaugural event under Fritz at GS
PHOTO GALLERY
STATESBORO, Ga. - Over 200 faithful Georgia Southern fans packed Paulson Stadium's Bishop Field House Thursday evening for a night of football, fun and hype. But this night was different. This night featured a equipment and fashion show. It included a tour of the Ted Smith Family Football Center. And it included field activities and door prizes. What it didn't include was men.
Thursday night was the first Georgia Southern Women's Football Clinic at GS for head coach Willie Fritz, and if the ladies in attendance are any indicator of the excitement level about this year's squad, Fritz has this fan base behind the Eagles in a big way. Proceeds from the event will go to helping provide tickets for local youth to upcoming games.
Across all age groups in attendance, the females at the Georgia Southern Women's Football Clinic shared one obvious common bond: a serious Eagle football fandom.
The Voice of the Eagles, Chris Blair, started up with the evening with an introduction of Fritz and a simple question: "Does everyone have their season tickets?" The question was met with a resounding cheer.
Then it was time for Fritz to take over. The charismatic second-year coach got the women on their feet right away, exuding energy and excitement that quickly spread throughout the room. He introduced his staff, and in turn, their wives. Fritz's wife, Susan, was decked out in a No. 8 jersey, much to the approval of Tracy Ham.
"I've got the best staff in the country, and the prettiest group of wives to go along with them," he said.
After a recap of the 2014 season and Sun Belt Conference title, equipment manager Adam Brooks showed the women everything that goes into a practice uniform and a game uniform ... but unlike the Paris runways, the models this evening were current Eagle players such as Zack Copeland, Kevin Ellison and crowd-favorite Matt Dobson. Coach Fritz pleaded for the ladies to keep it clean with no catcalls, but that was a fruitless request.
Brooks went over the cost of each piece of equipment. Did you know a helmet costs around $350? What about shoulder pads? Those cost $400 each. Jerseys cost $90 and when you add up all the accessories, Adidas gear and more, each player is outfitted with about $1,637 worth of "swag" that totals to over $204,000 when you multiply that by the more than 120 players in the program.
After a contest to see which team could get dressed the fastest - and correctly - in a full uniform, the women were split into two groups - as in Blue and White - and sent their separate ways for tours of the team meeting rooms, the weight room, the training room, locker room and players' lounge.
At the conclusion of each group's stadium tour, the clinic attendees took the field through the tunnel and under the lights just as the players do on those electrifying Saturdays in Paulson Stadium.
Fritz's high expectations for this football season were reinforced by the positive attitude of the coaches, staff, players and fellow Eagle fans at the clinic.
The ladies closed the night with drills on the field, going through running, passing and kicking drills before finishing the evening with door prizes and one last pitch from Blair to purchase season tickets.
Georgia Southern won the 2014 Sun Belt title in its first season in the league, finishing 8-0 in the conference and 9-3 overall. The Eagles return 58 lettermen and 13 starters to the 2015 squad, were picked to win the Sun Belt in the league's preseason coaches' poll and are receiving votes in the USA Today Amway Top-25 Coaches Poll.
Fans can purchase 2015 season tickets and select their seats online, by calling 1-800-GSU-WINS or by visiting the ticket office in the Cowart Building adjacent to Paulson Stadium (203 Lanier Drive). Ticket office hours are Monday-Friday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Season tickets prices start as low as $75 for all six games. Season ticket sales have exceeded last year's total and are expected to reach an all-time high.
