August 6, 2015 -- Members of the Sherwood Christian Academy, Albany, Georgia, football team spent a week completing High Intensity Tactical Training aboard Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, recently.
H.I.T.T. is a good match for the players because it is Division 1 football and baseball athletics-based training, according to Whitney Hendrix, fitness director, MCLB Albany.
“We are helping these students by using speed and agility drills,” Hendrix said. “We are also teaching them how to get down low and change their center of gravity so they can move stronger and quicker on the field.”
Adam Crosby, special teams’ coordinator quarterback and receiver coach, Sherwood Christian Academy, said the young players are gaining much more than good football techniques.
“We believe using the Marine Corps' values and combining them with our values is not just preparing these players for the upcoming season on the football field,” Crosby said. “They are being taught some great life value lessons they will need as men in life.”
When the students spoke of their weeklong experience, life lessons were peppered into the conversation.
“Perseverance in everything you do was really emphasized,” Dylan Evans, 12th grader, Sherwood Christian Academy, said. “I have also been taught a lot about brotherhood and no one gets left behind.”
“The Marines have taught us to have a sense of urgency about discipline,” Tristen Railey, 12th grader, Sherwood Christian Academy, said.
“They have also taught us to fulfill each other’s needs as brothers on the football field and in life,” Railey explained. “I really enjoyed this week a lot because this was not like any other training I have ever been through.”