Steven Gill and Todd Wargo, assistant football coaches at Western Maryland College, may be doing grunt work as part of the Baltimore Ravens grounds crew, but they aren't complaining.
The work is hard and requires long hours. The job gives the pair a chance to watch a professional football team practice, and they can apply what they learn to the Green Terror.
"The drills the Ravens are using should be adequate for a Division III team," joked Wargo, 26, referring to WMC's athletic VTC division.
Gill and Wargo are part of an 11-member crew, watering, seeding, aerating and painting the grass fields. One of their least-favorite jobs is covering the fields with a tarp when it rains. That's because the tarp can be rolled up for days at a time and become mildewed.
"It gives you a whole new meaning of odor," said Mike Wagner, the assistant superintendent of training camp grounds for the Ravens.
Their jobs pay $6.25 an hour and include room and board for the summer. Their daily schedule can run from 7 a.m. until midnight. They're on call at all hours.
Wargo recalled a night spent in the Ravens' trailer because a storm threatened. It never rained, but Wargo monitored the weather by computer. In the event of rain, he would have had to call out the grounds crew to cover the fields.
The ground is kept dry so that it is in top shape for the Ravens.
"We don't want any injuries," Wargo said.
Gill, 29, coaches the defensive line at WMC and hopes his experience with the Ravens will lead to an improvement in the Terror's 4-6 record last year.
"I have picked up some stuff, like pass-rush techniques and drills used with the seven-man sled that can definitely help the defensive line," he said.
In a pass-rush drill, defensive linemen rush the quarterback. The heavy, seven-man sled with cushioned pads is used to practice and improve techniques.
Gill says the Terror's defensive line last year was just "OK." But he said that continued practice eventually will make techniques instinctive.
Last year, Wargo, who graduated with a communications degree from WMC in 1993 and played offensive guard for Green Terror, coached the offensive line. This year, he will coach the running backs.
"I have a new adventure now," he said.
Wargo has been observing Al Lavan, the Ravens' running backs coach and listens to the advice he gives his players.
Wargo wants to improve the Terror's speed, as well as their footwork and cutting ability. He pays close attention to how professional running backs protect the ball, carrying it in the arm nearest the sideline and away from defensive players.
When their chores at WMC are finished, Gill and Wargo plan careers in head coaching.
"I will be a college football coach someday," said Gill, a 1995 graduate of Frostburg State University, where he was linebacker for the Bobcats and coached.
Gill will complete his two-year coaching position and his master's degree in physical education in December. He hopes to find work at another college.
"In order to establish yourself, you need to meet as many people as you can," Gill said. "In football, it is who you know."
Wargo wants to get a high school teaching job and to coach football.
He will complete his teaching certification and his coaching contract in May.
"I would like to stay in the area and coach," he said. "But I will go as far as I have to to get the best opportunity."
Pub Date: 8/12/97
