Troy Aikman Thinks Wichita Falls Training Camps Made the Cowboys Tougher

Troy Aikman was reflecting on the training camp days in Wichita Falls at the end of his career on a recent podcast and says that the NFL needs to bring them back.

From 1998-2001, Wichita Falls was the training camp home of the Dallas Cowboys. Nowadays the Cowboys host their training camp in Oxnard, California. However, Troy suggested the tougher training camps need to come back to help players prepare for the upcoming season.

Troy Aikman Shouts Out Wichita Falls on Rodeo Time Podcast

If you fast forward to the 21 minute mark in the video you can hear about Troy talk about his time in Wichita Falls. "Wichita Falls is the hottest place on earth,” Aikman said. “Back then you did two-a-days in that kind of heat, day after day after day, two practices a day in full pads. Now the restrictions, probably for the better, players aren’t as taxed as they were.”

Are Easier Practices to Blame for More Injuries in the NFL?

"I think that we see so many injuries, especially early in the year. A lot of soft tissue injuries, a lot of muscle pulls, and things of that nature is the players, they’re just not able to train the way that we once did, they’re not able to callous their bodies as easily. Not that they’re not training hard and all that, but it’s different training on your own as opposed to being on the football field practicing football movements.”

Aikman does go onto say he likes the rules that promote players safety. However, he does think waiting to do full contact practices is not a smart move to prepare players for the upcoming season.