2nd Lt. Randall Burton, 1st Space Brigade, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command, runs 50 yards and back with a tackling dummy as part of a five-man relay. This was one of five events during the Broncos and USAA N...
ENGLEWOOD, Colorado -- About 50 military members, from different branches, got a taste of the NFL as the Broncos and USAA teamed up for an NFL Boot Camp experience August 25 at the Denver Bronco's University of Colorado Health Training Center Fieldhouse in Englewood, Colorado.
A five-person team from U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command competed against nine other service member teams in a football-themed skills contest to include team ball passing and catching, a gauntlet, a tackling dummy relay, a sled push, and a kneeling power ball launch.
Team SMDC, which consisted of Capt. Derrick Williams, 1st Lt. Ryan Thompson, 2nd Lt. Randall Burton, 2nd Lt. Lara Wilson and Staff Sgt. Jared LaRiviere, worked together to take second place in the competition.
Command Sgt. Maj. Scott Sutherland said the team worked hard in training for the event.
"This team showed great motivation and speed during practice, and it showed here today," said Sutherland. "I'm really proud of how well they performed. This was a great event, and a lot of fun for everyone."
Williams, the team captain, said he loved the experience.
"It was great to come here and show how the training and things we do in the military can transition over to some NFL drills," Williams said. "It was great to train up for this and have an expectation to do well.
"It's also been a great opportunity to be around other service members we didn't know and just instantly have comradery with them," Williams added. "Our team and the team we were competing next to automatically rallied together. Even though we were competing against each other, we were still cheering each other on. It was just instinctive to do that because we may not be in the same service but we're all in the military."
The day concluded with exclusive access to watch the Broncos practice followed by a meet and greet with the Broncos players and coaches.
Social Sharing