By Matt Jenkins
Staff writer
—
PEABODY — Football linemen are never given anything.
Headlines, glory, dates with cheerleaders — those are things that often find their way to quarterbacks and running backs, and while those facts of football are unlikely to change anytime soon Gridiron Training founder and owner Pat Downey gave a pretty big something to North Shore high school linemen last night at Bishop Fenwick.
Downey and Gridiron Training hosted a free private workout dedicated strictly to linemen that tackled intricate techniques, competition and some life training mixed into the workout. But that wasn't the entire package. The workout — which was sponsored and funded by American Nutrition Center and owner Steve Cardillo — also included specific instruction from former NFL players Mike Flynn, Vernon Crawford and Joe Fleming.
Downey, a former Bishop Fenwick, University of New Hampshire offensive line standout who had professional football stints in the NFL, NFL Europe and the Arena Football League, felt that this type of opportunity doesn't come around often for offensive linemen, but he's hoping to make it a yearly occurrence.
"I think it's very rare. That's why when I sat down with these friends of mine we were looking in the area and saw things for QBs and skills camps, but no one in my opinion offered instruction for linemen by NFL linemen," Downey said. "We don't get girls, we don't get any hype, all we do is eat and lift. This is a great opportunity to see NFL linemen and meet them and hopefully motivate them, not to become NFL players but to reach their goals."
When the workout began the group broke up into offensive and defensive linemen, with Flynn taking the offensive linemen and Crawford and Fleming working with the defensive crew.
The instruction was very specific, and the trio of former NFL players clearly had the attention of their pupils.
"From what I've learned so far, it's really helpful to talk to an expert, someone who really knows what they're talking about," Hamilton-Wenham senior offensive and defensive tackle James Brao said. "They can tell you something that your high school coach might not know, things that only pros have learned and experienced. They can help you in ways that otherwise you'd never get helped with."
It's not like Downey expects that instruction to be limited to the individual players either.
Downey, who also praised sponsor Vita Coco, invited local coaches to attend, and encouraged them to get right in the middle of the drills to learn new techniques.
The players are also encouraged to pass along anything learned to their high school teammates.
"It's not everyday that you get NFL players telling you what to do," Peabody senior linebacker/offensive guard Mike Garrity said. "I can go back to my team and tell them what they said."
The workout was pretty well covered by the North Shore and beyond, with players from Peabody, Salem, Ipswich, Hamilton-Wenham, Malden Catholic, Woburn and Marshfield present.
A large group of Everett players, accompanied by Crimson Tide head coach John DiBiaso, was also in attendance.
"You look at any practice and there are only so many minutes coaches can give to the offensive line. There might be a couple running plays and pass techniques, but you only get that a couple times a week," said Flynn, who won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens in 2001. "Here, you get an hour or more. The biggest thing is for an hour once a week or a couple times a month you can take something from it, but more importantly take something home that you can work with on your own."
Gridiron Training has now been operating for a little over a year and it has grown from just 30 athletes to well over 300. The focus of Gridiron Training is hard work, and Downey is hoping his program helps build excellent football players and athletes, but also strong human beings.
"We're not only teaching the technical stuff, but also life skills," Downey, a Swampscott resident, said. "Our mission is two fold: to enhance performance on the field and teach life skills like leadership and accountability, and the importance of setting goals and hard work."
