One thing we have learned about Sean Sweeney in his first week with the Orlando Magic is that he is a boxing fan.
There has long been a connection between other sports and boxing or combat sports. MMA is huge in NBA circles, and plenty of Magic players have attended MMA events. Many basketball players will cross-train with boxing and MMA drills.
Sweeney took that love into instruction to close his first week of training camp. He brought in former junior welterweight champion Chris Aligieri to talk to the team about his journey to becoming a world champion and what it takes to train and prepare for a championship-level fight.
Most boxing matches are 10 rounds. But championship bouts go for 12 rounds.
It feels like an appropriate metaphor. To get to the top of the mountain means going the extra mile. Those extra six minutes and being able to thrive under that pressure are what make champions. To fight in a championship match means preparing for something you have never done before.
The Magic are indeed preparing for something they have never done before. They are learning a new system with coach Sean Sweeney and aiming to break out of the first round after falling short during the last three years.
The first four days of camp have seen a lot of teaching and installing. But it has also been a focused effort. The team is making progress to prepare for the fight ahead.
"I really like the communication level that we've had," Sweeney said after practice Thursday. "In general, I thought there would be more trying to get them to do things and really pushing them, but they have been pushing themselves, which is a great sign.
"The other thing I love about our team so far is the way they communicate with each other is strong. These guys know how to talk to each other. They have time spent, but also have equity built up with each other that allows them to communicate openly and effectively."
If one thing has stood out in the first week of the camp, it has been the hunger to improve and the eagerness to learn.
There is still work to do, of course. As the team moves out of two-a-days and the first week of camp, they have two weeks to prepare for the regular-season opener.
But it was a solid first week for the Magic.
The two-a-day pressure
Two-a-days are normal in the early days of training camp. Teams are working hard to install their offense and defense and make sure everyone is ready for the long haul through the season.
It became even more important with a new coaching staff trying to install and implement a new offensive and defensive system.
Everyone on the Magic has described the first week of practice as intense. It has been a detail-oriented and focused week of practice for this team.
Tristan da Silva said a lot has stood out, from the structure of practices to the team's intensity. There has been a lot of teaching as the team tries to grow into the team it will become.
"A lot of growth compared to where we were at the beginning of training camp and even the beginning of the summer," da Silva said after practice Friday. "I think everybody has put in a lot of work and focus and concentration, making sure we get the fundamentals of our defense and our offense right. That is also credited to the attention to detail the coaching staff is putting on everything."
Da Silva lauded the coaching staff for coaching the team hard. Players say they are being challenged to get things right the first time and corrected immediately as they lay this foundation. There has been a lot of accountability.
It has been an energetic camp. The team was ready to compete.
The next step
There is still more work to do.
Friday's practice was a little more competitive with the team working against each other a little bit more live. Sean Sweeney is still testing how the team applies these fundamentals in live action.
The Magic are hoping to get a little healthier too.
Sweeney said both Anthony Black and Noah Penda are participating in non-contact drills and feeling better after their injuries early in camp. They are both close to being fully available.
The Magic are still working to get everything to be second nature. There is a lot of teaching and reinforcing at this juncture of camp.
Everything is slowly coming together.
"It takes a bit of time to get there, but we definitely feel that, especially in the quick-minute games or trips up and down," Tristan da Silva said after practice Friday. "Things seem more effortless and more natural. The spacing, the attacks, where shots are coming from and what we want to do defensively. Right now, it is building further onto that. And, on top of the fundamentals and the rest of the offense and defense, the approach remains the same and becomes natural."
It is not supposed to be perfect yet. Nobody around the league likely feels fully ready for a game - the Miami Heat and Toronto Raptors tip off the preseason Saturday in Qubec City.
The Magic play their first game on Wednesday in Memphis. That will be a big test to see how the team executes and applies these things in live action.
That there is some eagerness to see how this thing looks speaks to the confidence in what they have learned and taught early on. Everyone has said only encouraging words about the way the team has done its work.
That anticipation will only grow to get a true litmus test. But the team cannot skip steps along the way.
"I want to see the group keep taking things a step at a time," Sweeney said after practice Friday. "I think we have done a really good job of execution and now I want us to flow from one thing to the next. First, you teach it, then you want to see if they retained it. Now, can they do it against practice competition? Then, can they do it when the pressure goes up against game competition? Those steps are still steps that we have to take, and we haven't seen yet."
There is still a lot to reinforce and teach. The Magic are still installing elements of their offensive and defensive principles. Sweeney said he feels the team is in a pretty good place for the first four days.
There is a long fight ahead. The Magic are training for it right now. The bell will ring soon enough.
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