MARINE TRAINING
USMC works Tolman hard in taxing training session
PAWTUCKET – Nate Pona sat near the entrance of PFC Kyle J. Coutu Memorial Field, also known as Tolman High’s practice site, early Monday evening looking mighty dazed and confused.
The Tigers’ senior sipped on a bottle of water and tried to explain just how he felt after going through a series of brutal physical activities he claimed to be more difficult than a marathon, triathlon or endurance race such as Tough Mudder.
“That was a lot of work; a nine out of 10 in terms of grueling,” he said. “I’ve never been through anything like this in life. Right now, I feel so spaced out; I’m a little tired, and dizzy.
“I also don’t think I drank enough water before doing all that,” he added. “I wasn’t prepared for it, that’s for sure.”
“That was a lot of work; a nine out of 10 in terms of grueling,” he said. “I’ve never been through anything like this in life. Right now, I feel so spaced out; I’m a little tired, and dizzy.”
— Tolman’s Nate Pona
That was part of Tolman varsity football coach Jason DeLawrence’s plan all along when he decided, at a teaching colleague’s suggestion, to conduct a special practice featuring the U.S. Marine Corps.
The caveat for him: All he had to do was stand back and watch Retired Sgt. Maj. Steve Smith, the THS marine instructor of the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC), and a bevy of other marines put his troops through the paces.
And did they ever.
According to the itinerary given to DeLawrence by Smith, the intent was “to provide the members of the … football team the opportunity to gain a better understanding of the Marine Corps and Military Team Training and Discipline … (and) utilizing motivational techniques, constant corrections and physical fitness training, the football team members will gain a better understanding of unit cohesion and teamwork.”
According to DeLawrence, who has overseen a squad that hasn’t seen minimal success the last two seasons, it wasn’t his idea but Smith’s.
“He came to me last year and suggested we do it, but we couldn’t put it together for one reason or another,” he explained. “Two months ago, I saw him at summer school and he asked me if I wanted to give it another shot. I just said, ‘Absolutely.’
“I wanted to build more team camaraderie and show them what being part of a real team encompasses; I don’t think a lot of them know that, what kind of discipline they have to have,” he added. “The last couple of years, we’ve won exactly one game, and we didn’t win any last year. In that time, we’ve been a mentally weak team. If we were down, the guys would get down on themselves and quit.
“I’m done with that; we need to be stronger (emotionally and mentally) than that, and it starts with something like this … I only have 42 kids here (Monday), so I’m missing 16; I’m NOT happy about that.”
DeLawrence, however, admitted being excited while watching the group of marines (who hail from the Providence Reserve Center or are local U.S. Army or Marine recruiters) work with (over?) the young Tigers.
**
The session began at 16:00 hours (4 p.m.) on the dot with Smith and Co. briefing the coaching staff, and – at 16:30 – medics/corpsman (one happened to be 2008 THS grad Cpl. Kyle Joyce, a Tolman ROTC medic) educating the coaches about safety: Possible heat injuries, hydration, training time outs and other physical training-associated injuries.
Then came 17:00 hours, when Smith introduced the team to the marines, briefed them on the mission of conduct of training and demonstrated how to address the instructors, position of attention, the parade rest and at ease before assembling the platoon into squads.
Following a warm-up formation run with cadence, the instructors began the “Daily Seven” stretching exercises, which includes side straddle hops, steam engines, trunk twists, eight-count body builders, arm circles, flutter kicks and USMC pushups.
After that, the players, in four lines of 1012, partook in team building exercises. For those doing any calisthenics incorrectly, one or more instructors would scream at the guilty party, and if that continued, they’d pull them aside for more drills until they got it right.
What followed – the Conduct of Marine Corps’ Combat Fitness Test – hardly thrilled the gridders. It opened with individuals running perhaps 30 yards up one sideline to the end line, around the back of the end zone, the full 120 yards down the opposite side of the field, another sprint down the other end line and back up to the start line.
Call that “Movement to Conduct” drill, which means running to the enemy.
“I love it. They’re breaking them down,” DeLawrence grinned. Not long after, his tone softened a bit.
“I can see how their demeanor is already changing a bit,” he said. “Initially, I could see sheer fear in some of their eyes and faces, and some others were being defiant, but I don’t see that now.
“They just really need to be more disciplined; this should show them that if they can get through this, they can get through anything,” he continued. “When we’re playing a game and we’re down 8-0 or 13-0 entering the fourth quarter, it used to be the kids would get down and fold. This shows them they have to have the mental toughness to believe they can come back.
“This should give them a ton of confidence.”
When each player accomplished the opening drill, team members moved on to the “Ammo Can Lift” – or lifting a 30-pound “toolbox-like” object until the elbow snaps above your head as many times as possible in two minutes. A lot of young men struggled, but a select few looked like they had a rather easy time of it.
Through all of it, the marines screamed instructions, of, if they were seeing 110 percent effort, praise.
During a water break, senior quarterback and captain Justin Klemanchuck admitted, “It’s intense; it’s hard, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.”
**
As Smith watched the goings-on, all the while yelling his dismay to those kids who were not putting forth their consummate effort, he spoke about this endeavor.
“I think it’s going great because most of these kids are putting out,” stated Smith, who serves under the Tolman ROTC Senior Marine Instructor Ret. Col. Jeff Richardson. “They’re listening to what they’re being told, and the marines are doing a terrific job of using constant direction and instruction.
“They’re teaching them how to complete this period of training, which emphasizes teamwork and strength and conditioning.”
The final phase of the CFT is called “Maneuver Under Fire,” and it consists of several movements. Among them: A timed 300-yard shuttle run that incorporates a variety of combat-related tasks.
Here’s how Smith described it: “It’s a 75yard course, and it consists of the players doing low and high crawls along the ground, then running a serpentine course (with small pylons) to the end of the course before they lift their partner up by their shoulders and drag them (the legs and feet) around the pylons.
“Then they have to complete a fireman’s carry with their partner of their back for another 50 yards to the finish line. They immediately must pick up the 30-pound ammo cans and run the 75 yards back, put them down, do three perfect Marine pushups and throw a football – to simulate a grenade – at a target 25 yards away. If they hit the target, they get five seconds off their total time.
“From there, the pick up the ammo cans again and run that serpentine route the 75 yards back.”
Following a few more drills, Smith and the marines led the contingent to the memorial marker at the back left end of the field, and asked the guys to sit as he gave them another thing to think about before they open their first campaign in Division III in years.
Knowing these youngsters knew nothing about the former Tigers’ student-athlete and military hero, he delivered a brief history about the young man.
“I wanted to reinforce to them the sacrifices PFC Coutu made to our country before his death in Afghanistan in 2010, and the sacrifice he made to each and every individual on this field right now,” Smith stated. “They should know; he’s one of their brothers, and they’ll be practicing on this field every day (this summer and fall). They should know why it’s named after him.”
**
When it was over, Klemanchuck – who is a captain along with classmates Pona, receiver/ strong safety Devin (“Bugz”) Marabello and outside linebacker Tim (“Bear”) Hennigan (with one to be named later) – admitted it served as an intense but valuable lesson.
“Teamwork was the entire principle behind it,” he said. “It’s easily the hardest (stuff) we’ve done all camp, without a doubt. It teaches us we have to put our pride aside and let people scream right in your face sometimes. Carrying a teammate 75 yards on your back while trying to run? Wow!”
When asked if that was symbolic, he simply smiled.
“Oh, it was hard, real hard,” Marabello claimed. “The constant yelling in my face? I didn’t like that, but it you had to do it their way or no way. They did irritate me a lot, and I thought about raising a fist, but I was afraid of getting beaten up.
“This taught me we all have to be better team players and listen to what the coaches are telling us if we want to win. It makes us more of a team and more disciplined.”
As for Pona, he indicated through his exhaustion, “I’m still glad I did this. I think it’s going to pay off in the long run for all of us. I think it’s bring us closer together as a team. I can’t say this really surprised me because is what you have to be able to do to become a marine, and that’s in my plans someday.
“After all, the U.S. Marine Corps is the toughest branch in the military.”