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University of Wisconsin-Whitewater assistant football coach Daryl Agpalsa spent three weeks of his summer living the dreams of hundreds of football coaches around the country.
 
Agpalsa, who enters his second season as an offensive line coach for the Warhawks, spent nearly a month in late July and early August working with the National Football League's Jacksonville Jaguars at the team's training camp in Florida.
 
As one of three interns working with head coach Gus Bradley and the rest of the team's staff, Agpalsa worked in nearly every facet of coaching – game day operations, video, practice, scout team and other general and miscellaneous tasks.
 
He earned the opportunity thanks to the Bill Walsh Minority Fellowship program, which grants talented minority coaches the opportunity to gain experience in an NFL setting. The internship culminated with the Jaguars' first preseason game of the 2014 season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Aug. 8.
 
Agpalsa's experience began the night before camp, with a surprise presentation and discussion with the head coach.
 
"Coach Bradley took the three interns and spoke with us on his philosophy from about 4:30 that afternoon until 8:30," Agpalsa said. "He didn't even know us, and he took us in for four hours the day before camp. He and his staff are so humble and welcoming. It was an eye-opening experience."
 
A typical day in camp for Agpalsa began with a 7 a.m. offensive staff meeting and continued with a full staff meeting at 7:30, a team meeting at 8:30, an offense-only meeting at 8:45 and practice at 9:55.
 
After lunch, players and staff engaged in a variety of meetings, walk-throughs, film study and nightly meals and snacks until 10:30 p.m., the players' curfew.
 
In addition to the structure and organization of camp, Agpalsa said he learned a lot about practice planning, including techniques and drills. He hopes to incorporate those, as well as several leadership and development philosophies, into his coaching of UW-Whitewater's offensive line.
 
Agpalsa also noted that Bradley's style of coaching and philosophy is similar to that of the Warhawks' staff.
 
"Coach Bradley was big on motivating players and having them take ownership of their positions and responsibilities," Agpalsa said. "For me, that reaffirmed what we're already doing here at UW-Whitewater. We don't talk about national championships, but we talk about the process of getting better to get there."
 
As UW-Whitewater begins its preseason camp today, all five starters and several other rotational players from last season's offensive line return to the mix. Agpalsa is excited to work with both the returners and incoming freshmen to implement strategies to control the line of scrimmage.
 
"We're hoping to develop a larger sense of ownership for our unit," Agpalsa said. "Last season, we were starting with a bunch of new kids … now we can grow as a unit. Hopefully they've all worked hard in the offseason."
 
Senior Lucas Skibba (Plover/SPASH), a 2013 honorable mention All-American and 2014 preseason first team All-American, is a natural choice as the leader of the offensive line. Agpalsa believes several others will step into leadership roles as well.
 
"On paper, 'Skibbs' is the oldest, but I believe we have multiple kids who can be leaders," Agpalsa said. "I'm excited to see who can take that role. (Having a number of players who can contribute) is a good problem to have."
 
There is no doubt Agpalsa – and the entire Warhawks offensive line – is better off for his summer involvement with the Jaguars.
 
"It was an awesome experience," Agpalsa said. "I learned a lot about football, but it was the people I worked with that took it over the top for me."