LINCOLN — At 6 a.m. every Monday this fall, Nebraska's baseball team arrives at Haymarket Park. No gloves or bats needed. The players are there to run.
Sometimes it's a mile — Coach says you'd better be done under six minutes. The Huskers have had relay races back and forth on the Haymarket pedestrian bridge — losers get the "circle of death," a strenuous 10-minute ab workout.
"I feel like I'm ready for a marathon right now," junior Kurt Farmer said.
But that's not a complaint. The players understand what kind of culture first-year coach Darin Erstad is trying to instill.
Erstad wants high intensity and hard work. A total devotion to the team. Players have to be committed at all times, even when the alarm clock goes off at 5 a.m. and human nature is luring his guys to hit the snooze button.
Erstad likes what he's seen since fall practice began Sept. 8.
"We (as coaches) laid it out very clearly, what we expected out of them," he said. "There's a lot of good effort. We've still got some stragglers, but the lack of hustle is starting to stick out like a sore thumb."
The players are buying in, according to senior Kale Kiser. Some may not enjoy running early on Monday morning, or participating in demanding practices as many as six times a week.
But as Kiser puts it, they know that the extra work "is going to pay off because no other team in the country is doing that."
They won't know the true benefit until next spring, when the Huskers leave their powerhouse peers of the Big 12 and join the Big Ten. There's plenty to be done before then, though.
The NU coaches are starting from scratch this fall, opening up competition at every position and moving guys to new spots on the diamond to reinforce that fresh mentality.
Farmer, a first baseman last year, is working at shortstop. Kiser's in center field for the first time.
The staff's also using a point system to evaluate guys, grading them the way a football coach would. Mistakes like throwing a ball away, or bobbling a grounder — that's deducted from the day's score.
"That's the coaches' job to let you know where you fit," Farmer said. "I know we're going to have a little talk at the end of the year, and we'll find out where we stand and what we need to do."
For now, the players' primary objective is to keep working.
The intensity's been jacked up this fall," Kiser said. "And if you're slacking, you're not going to be part of this team. Everybody's got a sense of urgency. You have to show this new coaching staff what you got, show it every day."
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