Back In Berkeley: Cal Training Camp Documentary

Cal Bears Production (with an obvious affection for the Michael Bay Transformers films as evidenced by the credits animation), is either an in-house production service or a team hired by the Cal Athletics to department to produce a nice fall camp practice behind-the-scenes video series.

The video series will chronicle the team has it opens up fall camp and prepares for the 2012 season.

Here's the first episode.



A few thoughts after the jump.

- Dennis Dodd at CBS Sports has somewhat affectionately called the episode "Soft Knocks" in gesture to the HBO series "Hard Knocks" which features a behind the scenes look at NFL teams.

I don't care. I think the series is fantastic. Again, it likely speaks more about the lack of access Cal's fanbase has had in regards to its program, but it provides really, unparalleled access to anything the majority of fans have had the chance to see before. And despite it not showing anything revelatory, I'm still somewhat surprised that Coach Tedford ok'd it.

- The series is well edited and produced (yay for HD cameras!), but the star of the series might be the shots of the SAHPC and the newly renovated Memorial Stadium. Despite poring over photos and blurry videos the past year, being able to see the facility and actually seeing the team sit in its brand new conference room is really something to behold.

- I actually had no idea the team stayed in Bowles Hall (aka Hogwarts) during training camp. It makes complete sense given their proximity to the training facilities and later Memorial Stadium though. And it's got to be a thousand lifetimes better than training at San Bernadino.

- I do wish the producers were able to choose a few more shots of the team looking a little less bored during Coach Tedford's opening remarks about making good decisions and such, but I guess there's only so much footage one can capture. Eesh.

- Geoffrey Gibson looks radically different from some of the recruiting photos I saw of him when he was a massive 340 pounds in high school. The Cal Bears roster lists him at about 313 pounds, so it certainly looks like he's been Blasquezed. If he can continue to finish plays then he can be a real force at the RG spot.

- LB Coach Kenwick Thompson is a high intensity coach, as is some of our other position coaches, but he was a nice to choice to feature in the video. It's a coach you'd want to actually watch coach up the kids.

- Oh, and for what it's worth, I personally think you could even center the show around RB CJ Anderson. The guy's a character.