The hardest thing, Jamon Cofield said, was getting used to the contact again. His team had wrapped up a 10-0 season, winning the Washington D.C. Area Metropolitan Youth Super Bowl, and he had been chosen to play in a prestigious all-star game.
Trouble was, Cofield hadn’t hit someone or been hit for weeks. He was trying to adjust to life on the basketball court. But when the all-star game you’re chosen for features 48 of the top seventh-graders from across the country, you don’t mind the return to contact.
“I was actually trying to get into basketball this year,” Cofield said. “But when our coach got me in [the Football University Youth All-American Bowl] I said, ‘What the heck, I might as well have a little bit more contact in my life.’”
One of Cofield’s teammates from the Chantilly Youth Association 95-pound American Vikings, eighth-grader Raeshawn Smith, was chosen to play as well. Head coach Brian Newell and assistant Ray Gordon were picked to help lead the team and the foursome traveled to San Antonio, Texas together.
Football University is an invitation-only camp for higher-level youth football players, and the event was held in conjunction with the U.S. Army All-American Bowl for high school players. The five-day event featured 144 players — split into six teams — from across the country.
Cofield, Smith, Newell and Gordon arrived at San Antonio’s Alamodome on Wednesday, Dec. 31 and started with a 10 a.m. practice the next morning — New Year’s Day. In all, participants soaked in more than 11 hours of practice time.
“They really saw how great the level of competition was around the country,” said Newell, who worked with the running backs and defensive line on Cofield’s team. Gordon worked with the wide receivers and linebackers.
<b>PLAYERS AND COACHES</b> met Pro Football Hall of Famers Ken Houston and Roger Wehrli. They also spent time with Herman Boone and Bill Yoast of the 1971 T.C. Williams Titans and heard a motivational talk from former Philadelphia Eagle Vince Papali.
On Sunday, after four practices and a walk-through, teams hit the field for three bowl games. Cofield’s team took the field first but dropped a 21-14 decision to the West All-Stars. Playing in the first of two eighth-grade games, Smith helped his team to a 16-14 win.
“My favorite part was playing football,” Smith said. “I like to play. The week of practice was pretty tough with the schedule and I was pretty tired, but during the game I had a lot of fun.”
Cofield, a fullback and linebacker this past season for the Vikings, accumulated 1,008 rushing yards and scored 16 touchdowns. He also posted 77 tackles. Smith played tailback and outside linebacker, piling up 1,393 all-purpose yards with 61 tackles.
“I didn’t expect to have two-a-day practices for around two hours or so, but it was all worth it at the end,” Cofield said. “It was fun to compete with people from around the country and to meet new people and to meet new friends.”