Photo By Staff Sgt. Ian Valley | Jackson Carman from Fairfield Senior High School in Fairfield, Ohio, a member of the...... read more read more
The U.S. Army All-American Bowl features the nation’s top high school athletes and musicians showcasing their talents as the East and West teams, coached by Soldier Mentors of the world’s greatest team: the U.S. Army. But on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018, these students and mentors took a time out from training and practicing to share in friendly competition at the All-American Challenge at Sunset Station in San Antonio, Texas.
As one of the premier events leading up to the All-American Bowl, where high school football players from the eastern U.S. square off against their western U.S. counterparts, the All-American Challenge pitted the two sides, composed of their respective football players, band members, and Soldier Mentors, against each other in a drum battle, sit-up and push-up competitions, and a hot dog-eating contest, all to settle a very important decision: who would get to eat first.
“A lot of tradition goes into the the All-American Challenge,” said Erik Richards,
the National Recruiting Coordinator for the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, who also hosted the All-American Challenge. “Each year gets more competitive. They start talking about it on Sunday when they check in. Who’s going to be our push-up guy and who’s going to be our sit-up person.”
Although the Soldiers and students have been training and practicing all week, the evening event was the first opportunity for them to socialize together before Saturday’s All-American Bowl.
“This is a great event that lets these players and high school band members see these Soldiers that give their lives up to make this country safe so that they can go out and play on Friday nights,” said Richards.
During bowl week, Soldier Mentors spend one-on-one time with the football players and band members, sharing their own Army story and important lessons they have learned in their Army career. Lessons that include hard work and discipline, things high school athletes and musicians are no stranger to.
“It takes a special football player to wake up and go to school and then go to practice, and lift and train,” said Richards. “Well, a Soldier is on the same kind of regimen. They have to get up and do [physical training] and do their job, while some even have families.”
This sentiment is shared by Jadyn Christensen, a trumpet player from Roy High School in Roy, Utah, who was a competitor for the West team in the eating portion of the All-American Challenge.
“I’ve come to respect the Army even more than I already did,” said Christensen. “I never really realized how human they are. I have realized they all have lives outside of being a Soldier and that’s really amazing.”
The East team took top honors in the All-American Challenge, besting the West team in all three contests, a fact they reminded their opponents of as they took their places at the front of the food line. The West team, however will have their chance to redeem themselves when they take the field Saturday.
The 2018 All-American Bowl will take place at the Alamodome Saturday, Jan. 6, at 1:00 p.m. EST, and will be televised live by NBC.
| Date Taken: | 01.04.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 01.04.2018 18:56 |
| Story ID: | 261360 |
| Location: | SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 44 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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