FACTORYVILLE — It’s not every day that young, aspiring football players have the chance to receive advice from a coach in the National Football League (NFL).
The group participating in the Seventh Annual Lion Cub Football Camp, for children ages 6-14, at Lackawanna Trail High School was awarded that opportunity when Trail alumnus John Glenn, a quality control coach with the Seattle Seahawks specializing with linebackers, served as the guest speaker July 13.
During the two-day event, July 13-14, campers received position-specific instruction from the coaching staff and members of the Lackawanna Trail High School football team in a non-contact setting. Head football coach Steve Jervis also emphasized the importance of “Lion Pride” throughout the entire Lackawanna Trail football family.
“We’re very fortunate,” Jervis said. “We’ve had some very distinguished alumni over the years at Lackawanna Trail as guest speakers. We try to get somebody who really talks a lot about the importance of football and how it impacted their life.”
Glenn, a Dalton native, who graduated from Lackawanna Trail in 2000, stressed the effect teamwork has on achieving success.
“As a player, this game was so special to me because it wasn’t about myself, it was about the guys next to me,” he said. “It was about the teammates I shared the locker room with. Once you understand the game isn’t about you, it’s about the man next to you…that’s what makes this game special.”
Glenn’s message also included the importance of protecting the football on offense and attacking the ball on defense.
“The football is the most important thing in the game,” Glenn said. “You can’t do anything without the ball. If you want to win games, you have to take care of the football and go after it (on defense).”
The Seahawks have played in consecutive Super Bowls, defeating the Denver Broncos in 2014 and losing to the New England Patriots in 2015, and Glenn believes the intensity each player brings to practice has played a big role in their accomplishments.
“For us, practice is everything,” he said. “The only place you get to hone your skills is on the practice field. We go as fast, hard, and physical as we can possibly go. Our players comment that our practices are harder than the games.”
Toward the end of the talk, Glenn shared three rules members of the Seahawks organization live by on a daily basis: always protect the team, no excuses, and be early.
