My report of TO's camp (long)

[cowboyeric8]

Hello all zoners. I just returned home from Dallas via plane. First off I would just like to thank you for this opportunity.

Since I was staying with my sister at the time and she lives in Dallas and the camp was in North Richland Hills we had to travel both days. But I didn't mind because I got to see Texas Stadium going to and from. The old stadium still gives me excitement, and by the way it seems to be getting a brand new paint job on the roof.

The camp was located at BISD stadium, which was hot, and the turf seemed even hotter, so I kept my gloves on the entire time. And with me being redheaded and a very light complexion, lets just say I got even redder. lol. But it was well worth it.

I was the oldest camper (only 17 year old). And the ages ranged from 7-17 so I gladly accepted a type of leadership role to the younger campers. The younger kids got really wild and hard to control at times, which was understandable.

The coaches there were excellent and had a drive to push us further than just the football field. Many of them ex-NFL players but none of the names rang a bell. Sorry maybe someone else will know the names.

But there is one coach I do know but only coached a few hours. Was 2-time Super Bowl Champ Ray Crockett. He was very full of excitement. Great guy and has great influences. I was on his team during the scrimmages. We ended in a tie though.

Two other players that talked to us were Zuriel Smith and Super Bowl MVP Larry Brown. I talked to Zuriel for a short period of time. We discussed our knees, he partially tore is ACL (that’s why he left Europe early). He also said that Henson was one of the most accurate quarterbacks he has played with, and that he was far beyond the standards of the Europe league and could easily be staring for many teams in the NFL given the opportunity.

Also talked to Larry, playing for the Cowboys was his greatest experience and after being asked "which receiver was the hardest to cover," he quickly replied, "all of them". I jokingly asked if he likes Neil O'donnell and he just grinned.

We mainly did speed drills which was very understandable considering we had kids who played varied positions and it was tough to do position drills. My 40 time was 4.9 and shuttle was also a 4.9.

The lunches were great, McDonalds and Buffalo Wild Wings both days.

At the end there was an award ceremony. And I pulled down an award for having courage, battling through multiple injuries.

Paparazzi seemed to be everywhere you looked especially when TO arrived.

Well I'm sorry but my opinion of TO has not changed much. He was there probably a total of 2 1/2 hours, which I completely understand because of Cowboys mini camp. But when he talked to us his words seemed forced and uninspired, but that may just be my impression. But the younger kids loved it. He signed probably just 10 autographs (I wasn't there for that and didn't want it). But we got bags at the end of camp with a picture, TO rubber band, and a pair of gloves. He said he took the time to autograph them all but they were all printed sheets with a fake name, so he basically lied. But like I said this was just my impression.

I hope this report didn't sound like I was down on the camp because I definitely was NOT. I had a great time, learned a lot, and its something I will never forget. And I really can't thank all of you enough.

Oh yeah, there should be many pictures; Tanin's dad took quit a few. But mine were with a disposable so I will have to get them developed first.

Thanks Again

[Social D]

Cool man. Thanks for the update on how things went.

[ka0tik]

Cool, nice to hear everything went great. yeh' u dont seem too excited about T.O , I agree you probably did see more things the young ones dont pay attention to. But like you said, you learned a lot, had fun and great experience.

Thanks for Sharing.

[Henson Domination]

Great report man. I enjoyed reading it.

Did you learn anything "new" that hadn't been taught to you previously or was different from what you're used to?

Originally Posted by cowboyeric8

He also said that Henson was one of the most accurate quarterbacks he has played with, and that he was far beyond the standards of the Europe league and could easily be staring for many teams in the NFL given the opportunity.

Obviously Zuriel does not know what he's talking about. Its time to dump Henson.

[iceberg]

Originally Posted by cowboyeric8

Hello all zoners. I just returned home from Dallas via plane. First off I would just like to thank you for this opportunity.

Since I was staying with my sister at the time and she lives in Dallas and the camp was in North Richland Hills we had to travel both days. But I didn't mind because I got to see Texas Stadium going to and from. The old stadium still gives me excitement, and by the way it seems to be getting a brand new paint job on the roof.

The camp was located at BISD stadium, which was hot, and the turf seemed even hotter, so I kept my gloves on the entire time. And with me being redheaded and a very light complexion, lets just say I got even redder. lol. But it was well worth it.

I was the oldest camper (only 17 year old). And the ages ranged from 7-17 so I gladly accepted a type of leadership role to the younger campers. The younger kids got really wild and hard to control at times, which was understandable.

[View Full Quote]The coaches there were excellent and had a drive to push us further than just the football field. Many of them ex-NFL players but none of the names rang a bell. Sorry maybe someone else will know the names.

But there is one coach I do know but only coached a few hours. Was 2-time Super Bowl Champ Ray Crockett. He was very full of excitement. Great guy and has great influences. I was on his team during the scrimmages. We ended in a tie though.

Two other players that talked to us were Zuriel Smith and Super Bowl MVP Larry Brown. I talked to Zuriel for a short period of time. We discussed our knees, he partially tore is ACL (that’s why he left Europe early). He also said that Henson was one of the most accurate quarterbacks he has played with, and that he was far beyond the standards of the Europe league and could easily be staring for many teams in the NFL given the opportunity.

Also talked to Larry, playing for the Cowboys was his greatest experience and after being asked "which receiver was the hardest to cover," he quickly replied, "all of them". I jokingly asked if he likes Neil O'donnell and he just grinned.

We mainly did speed drills which was very understandable considering we had kids who played varied positions and it was tough to do position drills. My 40 time was 4.9 and shuttle was also a 4.9.

The lunches were great, McDonalds and Buffalo Wild Wings both days.

At the end there was an award ceremony. And I pulled down an award for having courage, battling through multiple injuries.

Paparazzi seemed to be everywhere you looked especially when TO arrived.

Well I'm sorry but my opinion of TO has not changed much. He was there probably a total of 2 1/2 hours, which I completely understand because of Cowboys mini camp. But when he talked to us his words seemed forced and uninspired, but that may just be my impression. But the younger kids loved it. He signed probably just 10 autographs (I wasn't there for that and didn't want it). But we got bags at the end of camp with a picture, TO rubber band, and a pair of gloves. He said he took the time to autograph them all but they were all printed sheets with a fake name, so he basically lied. But like I said this was just my impression.

I hope this report didn't sound like I was down on the camp because I definitely was NOT. I had a great time, learned a lot, and its something I will never forget. And I really can't thank all of you enough.

Oh yeah, there should be many pictures; Tanin's dad took quit a few. But mine were with a disposable so I will have to get them developed first.

Thanks Again

sounds like you went in w/eyes open and not "star struck" - good report, thanks!

[cowboyeric8]

Originally Posted by Henson Domination

Great report man. I enjoyed reading it.

Did you learn anything "new" that hadn't been taught to you previously or was different from what you're used to?

Thanks, yeah I was talking to Ray Crockett (since I play corner) and he taught me this different way of swivelling your hips and arms, to turn faster to pursue the receiver. Which should help me. Also the "correct" techniques of lifting weights, turns out I was lifting the wrong way. So both should be beneficial.

[cowboyeric8]

Originally Posted by iceberg

sounds like you went in w/eyes open and not "star struck" - good report, thanks!

Yeah, I mean I'm glad TO did this camp and is trying to give back. I commend the effort, but he just didn't seem sincere and that really wasn't the reason I wanted to go.

I'm really not trying to bash him or anything, because as I see it he gave kids a memory to last a lifetime, and part of the proceeds to alzeimers so its all good. Sincere being the key word.

I enjoyed meeting Crockett, Brown, and Smith more than TO. And I might of been one of the few who knew who they were. Because you could talk to them and ask useful questions without being surrounded by a swarm of people.

[billknows]

He also said that Henson was one of the most accurate quarterbacks he has played with, and that he was far beyond the standards of the Europe league and could easily be staring for many teams in the NFL given the opportunity.....Thank YOU

[Jay]

I don't mean to question you Eric nor do I want to come off as a jerk, but..

You said that your 'opinion hasn't changed'. Regardless of whether you think you are being level-minded or not, there will be bias influencing your analysis of TO.

Now, I am not doubting a word you are saying. But I was just hoping you could perhaps elaborate about how exactly you thought TO wasn't being sincere?

Anyways, glad to hear you had a good time. Was Crockett the same one that helped Butkus with that HS team in Pennsylvania? If I'm not mistaken, that's him. I caught that show a few times on TV and he did come off as a very, very smart guy when it came to football. I'm glad to see that instead of hovering around TO, you really absorbed the camp and got something out of it. The price of admission was worth it, in that case.

[cowboyeric8]

Originally Posted by Jay

I don't mean to question you Eric nor do I want to come off as a jerk, but..

You said that your 'opinion hasn't changed'. Regardless of whether you think you are being level-minded or not, there will be bias influencing your analysis of TO.

Now, I am not doubting a word you are saying. But I was just hoping you could perhaps elaborate about how exactly you thought TO wasn't being sincere?

Anyways, glad to hear you had a good time. Was Crockett the same one that helped Butkus with that HS team in Pennsylvania? If I'm not mistaken, that's him. I caught that show a few times on TV and he did come off as a very, very smart guy when it came to football. I'm glad to see that instead of hovering around TO, you really absorbed the camp and got something out of it. The price of admission was worth it, in that case.

How can you not be biased, coming to TO. I have seen what the guy has done. And you know when you can tell in a person's voice whether they care or not, do you know what I'm saying? I quess its kind of like when you can tell someone is lying or not. I know he wasn't exactly lying, but I don't know a better word, than sincere. And he didn't stay long after the awards ceremony.

And the truth is (it didn't bother me at all) but he did lie. He said he prepared before hand and signed the photos, which he did not. They were duplicates of his signature over and over. Not real.

But anyway, yeah thats the same guy. I didn't miss an episode of Bound for Glory. He said for this season him and Butkus are going to Florida to help revamp another struggling high school team.

[Jay]

Yeah, I know what you mean now. Thanks for elaborating a little Eric. That's a load of crap that he said he personally signed them all when he really didn't. I have supported TO, but he just shouldn't of said that.

Glad you had a good time. Did Crockett say if the show would be on ESPN or not?

[Jay]

Edit: No clue what just happened, sorry for the double post.

[Yeagermeister]

Eric as long as you had a good time and learned something to help you in the future that's all that matters. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[CrazyCowboy]

great job! glad you had fun....

[Hostile]

I enjoyed the report Eric and I'm glad you had a good time. Tass told me you have great hands and don't drop anything thrown at you. Reading this made my day. Can't wait for more.