Juliet once said to Romeo that the lark strained harsh discords and unpleasing sharps.
Second-year head coach Fred vonAppen didn't wax quite as poetic when describing the erratic first day of spring practice for the University of Hawaii football team, but his sentiments came through loud and clear.
"It was raw," vonAppen said after yesterday's practice. "They didn't know all the dance steps yet, and we left too many footballs on the ground. But the effort level was good.
"We just need to expect more of ourselves and expect more at the practice setting. It takes a while to get back into a groove. Things get pretty frantic for a while. There's a lot of new stuff offensively. But all in all, not bad."
New offensive coordinator Wally English unveiled an offense that has a lot of motion in it. Granted, there are some similarities between this pro style attack and the West Coast offense of a year ago, but there are also some noticeable differences.
"It's a simpler offense than what we had last year," said former Stanford University running back Quincy Jacobs. "It's easier to understand and execute.
"In the old offense, we had a variety of pass routes. Now, there's just a couple of routes we run. We're going to run the ball a lot more and there's more zone blocking, which allows the back to pick the hole to run through."
There were times when just getting a play off was difficult. The tight ends had the most trouble understanding what English is trying to accomplish -- particularly in executing pass routes and understanding where to line up in certain formations.
As for the quarterbacks, Tim Carey and Dan Robinson quickly established themselves as the top twosome. Both had their moments in the three-hour practice at Cooke Field.
"We weren't clicking totally, a little sloppy for the first day," Carey said. "There were little mistakes here and there, but for practicing a completely new offense, I thought we did OK."
English echoed those sentiments.
"We're trying to get everyone on the same page, but we threw lots of stuff at them today," English said. "You can't possibly comprehend what's going to happen on the field from talking about it. You have to do it.
"It's like reading a book on golf, and then trying to go out and play. You've got to go through it. We weren't as crisp as I had hoped, but we weren't as bad as we could have been. We're some place in the middle there. Most of the guys kind of knew what to do. Some of the guys didn't know what to do. I think we'll be OK, but it's all about learning a new offense."
TRANSACTION WIRE: Former Kahuku standout Steve Laulu and New Zealand transfer Michael Anderson are no longer with the team.
Laulu is thinking about going on a mission, but according to vonAppen, it doesn't matter if he comes back.
"We've tried hard with Laulu, but it hasn't worked out," vonAppen said. "He won't be back as long as I'm head coach."
The departure of Anderson was on more friendly terms. Former coach Bob Wagner brought in Anderson three years ago to see if he could play football.
Anderson began as an offensive lineman, but injured his Achilles tendon in 1994 and hasn't been the same since. After the spring, he will become a full-time student at the architecture school.
VonAppen also will lose tight end Brian Marquardt and center Sione Tafuna. Both will go on missions after this semester.
INJURY UPDATE: The only two people scheduled to miss all of spring because of injuries are offensive linemen Shane Oliveira and Andy Phillips.
UH trainers are holding out Oliveira while his ankle continues to heal. Painful bone spurs cut short Oliveira's season in 1996.
As for Phillips, he's battling a bad back.
The NCAA told officials at the University of Hawaii that it was OK for the administration to pay the players' way to Shannon Smith's memorial service next Wednesday on Kauai."Apparently, if the trip is less than 100 miles, the school can pay for it," UH head coach Fred vonAppen said after yesterday's practice. "I know the NCAA said it was OK for something like this, which is great for our players."
Smith drowned last Saturday while trying to save vonAppen's son, Cody, at Slippery Slide, located north of Kapaa.
-- Paul Arnett
What: Interview ith UH Head Football Coach Fred vonAppen about Shannon Smith