The Villanova Football Team continued a tradition begun in the past few years by Head Coach Mark Ferrante of holding practice on Aug. 17 at Ocean City High School in Ocean City, New Jersey, writes Adam Cilli for VUSports.com

Ferrante said the Ocean City destination started because he wanted to break up the monotony of the pre-season camp when he took over as Head Coach.

The tradition stuck after the first year, breaking up the day-to-day grind of camp and giving family members a chance to see the players.

“It is a good change of pace and change of scenery for our team, and they get to spend a half day on the boardwalk or the beach,” he said.

The team is coming off a great year and is ranked high going into the new season.

Even so, Ferrante said the team expectations never change, as they focus on working hard, making great decisions, and getting a little better each day.

“Last year is last year, and we don’t really talk about that at all. And we never get excited about pre-season rankings,” he said.

The team played its season opener Sept. 2 against Lehigh, beating them 45-17.

Read more of the interview with Mark Ferrante at VUSports.com.

Get a glimpse of this year’s practice session in Ocean City.