THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 21, 1995 TAG: 9507200149
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER BEACON SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Long : 124 lines
CHRIS WORST and Elisha ``Cadillac'' Harris watched as the young man on the field faked left, went right and then broke into a full sprint before snagging a bee-line pass with his fingertips.
Both Beach District football coaches smiled and shook hands.
As administrative head coaches for the first Hampton Roads Football Camp, they naturally liked what they saw - a young up-and-coming talent running a tight pattern and catching the football.
But what they liked even more was the fact that the camp was shaping up to be a booming success.
The young man - Worst's son Cole - was one of 135 kids attending the first week of the celebrity-studded affair being staged at Virginia Wesleyan College. Like his peers, he was working hard in the blazing summer heat to improve his skills in the fundamentals of the game.
``I'm learning lots of stuff,'' said the Strawbridge Elementary School student who played last year for the Courthouse Cardinals - a city semifinalist team. ``I'm learning how to cover the wide receiver and attack the quarterback. I'm also learning how to keep my eye on the ball.
``Yes, I think (all of this) will help me out.''
Learning such skills is what camps all across South Hampton Roads - for a multitude of sports - are all about. In this day and age of specialized athletics, a child almost has to have extra training to be competitive.
That's why the Hampton Roads camp, held July 9 to 14, was founded by Darren Perry and Keith Goganious - a pair of former local high school standouts who now perform in the NFL.
Perry, formerly of Deep Creek High, Penn State University and now with the Pittsburgh Steelers - and Goganious, of Green Run High, Penn State, the Buffalo Bills and now the Jacksonville Jaguars - saw a need for an in-depth camp for area hopefuls.
``It's a good way for us to give back to the communities we came from, the places where we learned how to play,'' said Goganious, who unfortunately was called to the Jacksonville training camp a week early - forcing him away from the camp he founded.
His departure left Perry and a host of guest professionals with the task of working with an array of area high school coaches and assistants.
As of mid-week, things were going fantastically.
``The kids are really enthusiastic about it,'' Perry said. ``Everybody seems to be having a good time and they're all eager to learn.''
Going up against a professional defensive back has been especially interesting for some of the younger professional wanna-bes.
``They all want to beat an NFL cornerback,'' Perry smiled. ``There's some pretty good talent out here.''
Perry was joined at times during the week by the likes of William Fuller, Andre Powell, Scottie Graham, Rich McKenzie, Thomas Smith, Matt Darby and Bruce Smith. World class sprinter Andre Cason even made an appearance.
``You should have seen the jaws drop when he ran,'' said Worst, the head coach at Kellam. ``They couldn't believe how fast he was.''
Seeing in person and getting to talk personally to professional football players has been an added bonus of the Hampton Roads camp - one that organizers said helps the young athletes gain a better appreciation for the hard work involved with football successes.
``All you have to do is watch (the kids') eyes,'' Worst said.
Added Harris, the head coach at Green Run: ``To be able to talk to (the pros) is a great thing for these kids. The guys have come and talked to the kids about football, life, education, you name it.
``And it's exciting for them to be able to play around on the same field with them. One kid was running pass patterns and Darren was covering him. The kid caught the ball and all he could talk about was how he caught a pass with Darren Perry covering him.
``They're loving every minute.''
Apparently, even the work was enjoyable.
During morning sessions, participants were divided into groups determined by age and the type of drill.
``Everything starts on the horn and ends on it,'' Worst said. ``We've been keeping a pretty tight schedule so the kids know what's going on and when. We started working on this in January (with camp director and marketing director Erin and Gene Bunn) and we've got a great group of coaches helping us out.''
Participants paid $325 to attend the weeklong camp, which included room and and three meals a day.
The youngsters worked on drills and then had a classroom ``chalk talk'' session where what they did was mapped out. There were discussions so that the kids could understand what they had been doing.
``We explain to them so they can see it,'' Worst said. ``That way, they learn more about the game.''
And what fun would a football camp be without playing some actual games?
At the Tuesday session, the coaches held a draft of participants to form 7-on-7 teams for afternoon games. On Friday, a tournament was held with the winning team being awarded the opportunity for each player to attend a home Pittsburgh Steelers game of their choice.
The honor gave the players some incentive to play hard and show off the skills they had been learning all week. ILLUSTRATION: [Cover]
[Color Photo]
CHAMP CAMP
Darren Perry, camp co-founder and Steelers defensive back.
Staff photos by D. KEVIN ELLIOTT
Under the tutelage of Steelers defensive back Darren Perry, Billy
Foss, 11, a seventh-grader at Larkspur Middle School, tackles the
dummy during camp at Virginia Wesleyan.
Green Run's Cadillac Harris, left, and Kellam's Chris Worst served
as administrators for the Hampton Roads Football Camp founded by
Darren Perry and Keith Goganious.
Staff photos, including color cover, by D. KEVIN ELLIOTT
ON THE COVER: Pittsburgh Steelers' cornerback and former Deep Creek
High School standout Darren Perry goofs off with Brandon Bunn, 9,
during a passing drill.
LEFT: Camp participants listen to last-minute instructions before
taking a break for lunch and a break from the blazing sun.
Darren Perry demonstrates proper blocking techniques. Perry's camp
co-founder, Keith Goganious, was called to NFL camp by the
Jacksonville Jaguars, but Perry had help from other NFL stars.
by CNB