The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Group plays football in lost season
Hard At Work Boys consists of high school, middle school players
The novel coronavirus pandemic has canceled a countless number of events and activities this year, including Friday night football for Lorain City Schools.
As a result of the cancellations for safety reasons, Andre Judson and Daeshaen Crenshaw, who run a youth tackle league in Lorain, have started the Hard At Work Boys.
The group consists of high school and middle school football players who gather at 6:30 p.m. everyday outside of George Daniel Field, at 2601 Oberlin Ave., to work on conditioning, fundamentals and do what they can to get ready.
The student athletes
Nehemiah Elliott, 16, a junior at Lorain High School, is a middle linebacker on the football team, and he has consistently come out to the evening sessions to get some work in.
“We are just out here to work,” Nehemiah said. “Season got ended, so we got to do all we can to stay in shape and stay in shape just in case they do decide to have the season.
“We need to be ready if we get the call.”
Nehemiah said it was a big blow to him when he heard the season was cancelled.
“It was pretty big,” he said. “This year, I felt like it was probably going to be my best year.
“I put in a lot of work, and I worked really hard. It hurt real bad.”
Nehemiah said he is grateful for what Judson and Crenshaw are doing.
“It’s a great opportunity,” he said. “We got a lot of people out here, just like me, that are willing to come out and work hard and get better.
“We come out every day.” Derek Lorta, 16, a freshman at Lorain High and a wide receiver, is a regular at the sessions.
“I would have been a wide receiver on the team, so I love being able to come out here,” Derek said. “It’s a blessing. (Judson and Crenshaw) have been doing a great job with us.
“It’s really helped with my foot working and my pass catching.”
Jairo Williams, 13, an eighth-grader at General Johnnie Wilson, is taking advantage of the evening sessions.
“I play for the middle school as a wide receiver and running back,” Jairo said. “It really helps me with my foot work and ingame situations.
“I’m just thankful to be out here.”
Keeping them busy
Judson said the Hard At Work Boys is just something that happened organically in lieu of the cancelled football season.
“I usually coach little league, and (Crenshaw) and I have been working together for the past year or so,” he said. “We just decided to come out here everyday and just workout. It was before the season was cancelled.
“The youth leagues got cancelled earlier in the summer. So you had these kids in the neighborhoods without anything to do, so I was just trying to come out with them everyday. It’s just something that kept going throughout the summer and it hasn’t stopped.
“It’s called the Hard At Work Boys because they show up everyday and they work hard. When I saw that the schools cancelled their fall seasons, I just decided to keep it going.”
Judson said he has the teens going through different drills and activities at each session.
“Some days, we do fundamentals; so some days, we will have pads and different step ladders and stuff,” he said.
“NFL Flag and USA Football sent us some equipment, so we just utilize some things with different equipment, like parachutes for conditioning and things like that.”
Judson said he is proud of the players for coming out everyday.
“It shows me their determination, and shows me that they want it,” he said. “If you want to be a part of it, just show up. We are here everyday; we show up, stretch and play.
“It’s good to keep working on footwork and fundamentals. You don’t want that stuff to lapse. We’ve also had some guys that have lost weight. It’s workouts and then we play some 7-on-7 and stuff like that.”
Crenshaw said people can check in on the boys’ exploits by looking up Hard At Work Boys on Instagram.
“I’ve posted videos of days that we are out here,” he said.
“It focuses on some highlights. I try to keep it going as a real football game coverage for these kids that play school ball.
“We also break down highlights and show them how to get better. We just have a group out here that is different ages. We have from fifth graders to seniors out here.
“It’s all about the progress for these boys and having something for them everyday. It’s good for them to have that outlet.”