Rebels’ Ely getaway is no vacation

ELY -- Each day from the practice field at Broadbent Park, if UNLV's football players have a moment, they can look up and see the steam-engine train roll by in the distance.

Riding the train is one of the attractions here, but the players know they will never have time to jump on board.

Nor will they have time to walk to the nearby 1950s-style soda shop for a banana split or drive a little farther to La Fiesta for a dinner that probably rivals any Mexican restaurant in Las Vegas.

"We get to see the town as we drive by on the bus on the way to practice," junior quarterback Omar Clayton said.

The players probably aren't eager to get out and explore anyway.

There is no Hard Rock, no Pure nightclub, no friends to meet up with at the Rebels' training camp home away from home.

"There's just football," senior wide receiver Ryan Wolfe said. "There's not much else. Not to knock the town, but it's pretty low-key, not many distractions for us as players."

Even if the Rebels were back in Las Vegas, they'd have little time for anything other than football.

They practice each day, going twice every other day. The rest of the time is mostly spent in meetings studying previous practices and planning for the next one.

"You have to take care of your body," senior linebacker Jason Beauchamp said. "You have to understand plays. So even when you're not dealing with football, you are dealing with football. When you're in your room, you need to study up and stay prepared."

Even the meals are team events, such as the daily walk to lunch from the practice field to Postal Palace -- a former post office converted to a catered restaurant.

Much of the free time, what little there is, is spent sleeping. Players also play video games or cards or simply hang out.

"In that downtime is when we usually get to bond a little bit," Clayton said.

Clayton said one night usually is set aside for a little more relaxation, when the players hang out together and eat pizza.

They have plenty of time to get to know each other. They arrived Tuesday, and their final practice here is Wednesday evening.

Previous trips north have coincided with an antique car show or county fair that quickly filled hotel rooms. This time, the team is here between events, meaning the town of about 4,000 is even quieter than usual.

The accommodations also are meant to provide focus, similar to the NFL, where millionaire players check into claustrophobia-inducing college dormitories for training camp.

Here, scholarship college players stay in the Jail House (a motel) or Motel 6. Each room has two beds, a television, a bathroom and little else. Just the way coaches want it. This isn't meant to be a vacation.

"We keep them busy the whole time," coach Mike Sanford said. "We're playing football, meeting, walking through or eating or sleeping.

"When you take them out of their normal environment and put them all together in an environment that they're not completely comfortable with, that's a good thing for a team."

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Read the latest practice reports at lvrj.com/blogs/unlv_sports.