After the Commanders training camp wrapped up for the day Friday, about 100 active-duty members of all branches of the military gathered inside the bubble at Commanders Park for NFL Combine-style drills.
This was part of USAA’s Salute to Service campaign, and while not everyone knew it at the beginning, the winning team was getting two free tickets to a Commanders game later in the season.
After they finished stretching and warming up, the participants broke up into smaller groups and rotated around the field. Some ran the infamous 40-yard dash while another group ran the three-cone drill, which is all about switching direction in quick succession.
Another group did the broad jump, while the other two groups tried to see how far they could throw a ball after also running a gauntlet and catching a series of passes in quick succession.
“This is honestly very amazing,” team leader and Air Force member Anthony Orezzoli said. “A lot of these kids look like they could play on a college team.”
Leading the drills was Armani Reeves, a former Ohio State football player who works as a trainer and leads these USAA sessions in every NFL city.
“We try to make it as real as possible,” said Reeves. “We want to make sure that they’re getting the full experience.”
“Anytime that you get to do you know things that you see guys on TV do, it’s always really cool just to kind of put yourself in the shoes,” he added.
He acknowledged that at the end of the day, everyone was still competing with each other, and some of them were pretty athletic.
The winning team was a group of Marines that included Sgt. Jerard Walters, who is stationed at Quantico. His group won in part because of his 4.5 second 40-yard dash and his winning leap in the broad jump.
“I thought it was gonna be like 7-on-7,” said Walters. “But obviously, I like these drills. They’re like the NFL Combine, so I love it.”
“This was actually really fun,” said Danielle Medrano, who was also part of the winning team. “I’m not a football person, actually, but this was a really fun thing, especially to do with my fellow Marines.”
While the rivalries were friendly, it was also made clear that the goal was to just finish better than the Marines. That didn’t happen.
“The Marine Corps obviously is a tough branch, but all the other branches put in their own work,” she said with a smile. “So do we. But you know, Marine Corps on top.”
“Sick, sick experience,” said Nicholas Carchietta, whose 46-yard toss was one of the longer ones in that competition. “We’re all humbled that we won, and then you know, get to go to a Salute to Service game.”
Medrano was surprised to win the tickets. Growing up in Texas, she said she was a Houston Texans fan by proximity, but could see herself becoming a Commanders fan.
“I’m really grateful for the opportunity and the experience that I had today,” she said.
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