Rattler women display football pride during training clinic

FAMU First Lady Sharon Robinson, left, poses with Tiffany Holmes, wife of Head Coach Earl Holmes at Football 101

Saturday morning was the first training camp for 60 women who showed up to the inaugural FAMU Football 101 clinic at the Alfred Lawson Center.  Head Coach Earl Holmes and his entire coaching staff put on the clinic as a community outreach venture, as well as a fundraiser for both football and all women’s sports at FAMU.

“I thought the response was great.  Everyone had a great time,” said Assistant Athletic Director Angela Suggs, the clinic’s creator. “With that, we want to continue the energy into the 2013 football season,” Suggs said.

The participants were given a crash course in football terminology, position descriptions, offensive strategies, defensive strategies, rules and some on court drills.  It drew a cross section of women to the event, including FAMU First Lady Sharon Robinson, Holmes’ wife Tiffany Homes and Interim Athletic Director Michael Smith’s wife Loretta. 

All of FAMU’s women’s team coaches were present for the event.  FAMU Head Softball Coach Veronica Wiggins was pleased with the turnout, simply stating “This is awesome.”

The ladies first took to the classrooms. Just as football teams do on a normal basis, the offensive players split up from the defensive players and they had group study sessions.  Offensive Coordinator Quinn Gray then took the offensive players and coaches into a conference room and explained all of the positions, purpose, and responsibilities of each player on offense. Levon Kirkland and the defensive coaches did the same in the defensive conference room.

“Just watching football from the sidelines, one would not be able to imagine the level of detail and strategy that goes into every play.  Everyone knows the physical qualities it takes to play football, but for these ladies to get the inside story of what the coaches, as well as players really do is awesome.  We couldn’t be more pleased with the turnout and the way our coaches related to their team of walk-ons today,” Smith said.