The Bucs will hit the sleds again when training camp starts on July 31
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 2004 training camp will be a lot like Joe Pesci.
Short but intense.
The first day of practice – one of those training camp interludes affectionately known as 'two-a-days' – is scheduled for Saturday, July 31. The Bucs will subsequently break camp less than three weeks later, on August 18, two days before the team's second preseason game. In most years, the Bucs have broken camp prior to their third preseason game.
The late start is really a function of a later-then-usual opening day, as Tampa Bay doesn't play its regular-season opener until September 12, at Washington. However, once the players buckle up their chin-straps on the 31st, they'll be pounding away almost non-stop for two weeks.
That first Saturday will feature two practices on what will be the most common daily schedule of camp: a morning workout from 8:30-10:45 a.m. and an afternoon follow-up from 2:45-4:45 p.m. ET. The team is actually scheduled to toil through seven straight two-a-days before, on the eighth day, it will rest in the afternoon of the following Saturday.
The Buccaneers will hold training camp at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista for the third straight year. The first Camp Disney kicked off the 2002 season, which ended in Tampa Bay's victory in Super Bowl XXXVII.
In all, Tampa Bay will practice 30 times on Disney's well-manicured fields. As always, all of the workouts are open to the public and free of charge. Want to come sweat it out with the players? Here's a complete, daily schedule of the team's scheduled practices for Training Camp '04 (subject to change, all times ET):
| **DATE** | **SCHEDULE** |
| Saturday, July 31 | Practices: 8:30 – 10:45 a.m. and 2:45 – 4:45 p.m. |
| Sunday, August 1 | Practices: 8:30 – 10:45 a.m. and 2:45 – 4:45 p.m. |
| Monday, August 2 | Practices: 8:30 – 10:45 a.m. and 2:45 – 4:45 p.m. |
| Tuesday, August 3 | Practices: 8:30 – 10:45 a.m. and 2:45 – 3:55 (ST) |
| Wednesday, August 4 | Practices: 8:30 – 10:45 a.m. and 2:45 – 4:45 p.m. |
| Thursday, August 5 | Practices: 8:30 – 10:45 a.m. and 2:45 – 4:45 p.m. |
| Friday, August 6 | Practices: 8:30 – 10:45 a.m. and 2:45 – 3:55 (ST) |
| Saturday, August 7 | Practice: 8:30 – 10:45 a.m. |
| Sunday, August 8 | Practices: 8:30 – 10:45 a.m. and 2:45 – 4:45 p.m. |
| Monday, August 9 | Practices: 8:30 – 10:45 a.m. and 2:45 – 4:30 p.m. |
| Tuesday, August 10 | Practices: 8:30 – 10:45 a.m. and 2:45 – 3:55 (ST) |
| Wednesday, August 11 | Practices: 8:30 – 10:45 a.m. and 2:45 – 4:30 p.m. |
| Thursday, August 12 | Practices: 8:30 – 10:45 a.m. and 2:45 – 4:30 p.m. |
| Friday, August 13 | Walk Thru: 11:15 – 11:45 a.m. |
| Saturday, August 14 | Tampa Bay vs. Cincinnati, Raymond James Stadium – 7:00 p.m. |
| Sunday, August 15 | Players Day Off |
| Monday, August 16 | Practice: 2:45 – 4:30 p.m. |
| Tuesday, August 17 | Practices: 8:30 – 10:45 a.m. and 2:45 – 4:30 p.m. |
| Wednesday, August 18 | Practices: 8:30 – 10:45 a.m., Camp Breaks |
(ST) – Denotes special teams only practice (some players not in attendance) All times and dates subject to change
The Bucs' 2004 schedule is actually very similar to their 2003 approach to camp, with one major difference: there is no trip to Tokyo to break up the action. Last year, the Bucs played the New York Jets in the American Bowl in Japan, adding roughly a week to the team's time in camp, if not necessarily in Orlando. This year's camp will actually feature almost the same number of Florida practices.
Also for the third straight year, the team will house its players, coaches and staff at the nearby Celebration Hotel.
The Buccaneers were the first NFL team to conduct training camp at the Walt Disney World Resort, making great use of the 200-acre sports complex that also plays host to the Atlanta Braves during spring training. Prior to moving to Disney, the Buccaneers trained at the University of Tampa for the better part of two decades. The team's first camp destination was actually its own complex, One Buccaneer Place, and a hotel that used to stand next door.
Last year, the Bucs were one of only three teams in the NFL to hold training camp at a location other than a university or their own stadium or practice facilities. The Oakland Raiders moved to the Napa Valley Marriott while the Dallas Cowboys traveled to San Antonio and utilized the Alamodome and the Riverwalk Marriott.
