ROANOKE, Va. – Summer camp season is upon us and dozens of athletes from around the area are committing to get better on the gridiron and it all starts with safety first.
The Fastest Forty kicked off its annual camp at William Fleming High School on Monday. Founder Mark Harrison and other local coaches will spend the next 3 days on teaching the key factors in the sport including the proper tackling techniques and gaining leverage off the line. Monday’s afternoon session had dozens of players that represented William Fleming, Roanoke Cathloic, Northside and the Virginia Home School team.
“Oh it’s very important because as coach said if you’re not in the right position you might get hurt,” said Carlito Lee-Torrez. The running back and middle linebacker for the Virginia Spartans says he’s hoping to improve his game overall heading into the fall. “If anything helps it will just make my game better.”
“I feel like it’s a way I can get better and learn new stuff about the sport,” said Jamari Hale. He’s a rising 9th grader at William Fleming, looking forward to suiting up for the freshman team. “It’s something I look forward to doing long term so I want to just get better and learn new stuff from these coaches.”
TF40 will also hand out awards at the end of the camp when it wraps up on Wednesday, one of which is named in honor of the late, great educator and coach George “Kila” Miller.
To learn more about “The Fastest Forty” and Mark Harrison, check out Season 2, Episode 8 of Around the Way with EJ.