By AliJah Jackson
This past Memorial Day weekend NFL players
Daniel Graham and
LenDale White flew back into Denver to help coach 134 youths at the first annual Athletics and Beyond football clinic held at MontbelloHigh School.
Coaches
Herman White Sr. and
Herman White Jr., along with Arena Football League player
Darcey Levy (Columbus Destroyers) led in drills and helped to facilitate the camp.
Three Montbello High graduates -- University of Wyoming assistant coach
Harvey Patton, Las Vegas Mojave High coach
Billy Polk and
Ollie Williams also helped with the clinic.
Youths from the Arapahoe Youth League, Aurora Youth League, Denver Police Athletic League and a Pop Warner program from Kansas participated in football drills.The highlight of the clinic for participants, parents and coaches was when Graham showed his NFL Super Bowl rings.
Levy showed his Arena Football League championship ring from the 2005 Colorado Crush, and Ollie Williams and Billy Polk put their 1990 national championship rings from the University of Colorado on display.
Torrie Wellington from Under Armour was on hand during the life skills portion of the clinic to talk about her career beyond the playing field and introduced the new line of Under Armour cleats along with some promotional gifts to all of the participants.
When asked if the goals and objectives of the A&B clinic were accomplished, organizers said yes, that "fundamentals were taught in a structured environment that allowed for interaction with many different coaches -- all with various backgrounds and concepts.We were able to squeeze life skills in along with athletics and that is what our program is all about."
For more information about future A&B clinics and workshops go to the Web site
www.athleticsandbeyond.com.