St. Pete High's Football Squad Gets a Quick Course in Basic Training From the U.S. Marines

ST. PETERSBURG - One of the toughest sports in America joined forces with one of the toughest military branches in the country, when members of Florida’s Marine Corps came to St. Pete High on Friday to give the football team a few lessons in basic training.

The 1^st Annual Marine Challenge, an idea conceived by Strength & Conditioning coach Vince Richardson, was designed as a way for the players to get a taste of what it’s like to train at a high level, and also to bring attention to what is often considered the most demanding branches of all the armed forces.

“We’re hoping to get a little bit of a motivation factor out of (the challenge), and also a little bit of fun and competition for our boys,” head coach Joe Fabrizio said before the event.

Prior to the spring intrasquad Green & White game, six members of the 4^th Assault Amphibian Battalion and the Recruiting Substation of St. Pete challenged six members of the football team to a Combat Fitness Test, which consisted of strength and endurance events, like the ammo can lift and modified high crawl.

While the Marines handily won the challenge by a score of 471-450, the goal of the event was not for the kids to win, but for them to take something useful away from it.

“The purpose (of the challenge) was basically to build team morale within the school, and also to create a relationship between St. Pete High School and the United States Marine Corps,” Gunnery Sgt. Nick Affolter, Station Commander of the RSS St. Pete said. “I think it will motivate them in a way that they will see something that they can achieve.”

In addition to helping the players with their training and conditioning, the Marines brought vehicles, recruiters and information with them to get the word out to kids who might be thinking of a career in the military after high school.

“A lot of kids don’t know what they’re going to do after high school,” Staff Sgt. C.C. Henriquez, the local recruiter for St. Pete High, said after the event. “We’re here to gain exposure as well as help kids decide what they want to do after they graduate.”

As for the effect the challenge had on the players, one participant wasn’t afraid to say it opened his eyes as to what real basic training is.

“You could definitely tell it was a Marine type of thing, it was nothing to play around with,” junior OL Trevor Williams said. “We wanted to measure up to them, but it was a little more difficult than we thought.”

So what were Williams’ plans to recover from the grueling combination of the Marine Challenge and Green & White Game?

“I’m going to feel like taking a long nap.”