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SPORTS
Herd football has international appeal
Evan Carr-Hall, in blue shorts and white shirt, came to Marshall’s football camp from Toronto, Ontario. Carr-Hall wanted to check out Marshall after watching the movie “We Are Marshall.”
Purchase this photoHUNTINGTON -- Safe to say, Marshall University's summer football camps are expanding.
Sure, a healthy amount of T-shirts representing local high schools were spotted for Saturday's camp. Youngsters throughout the Tri-State (grades one through 12) represented much of approximate 100 campers working out at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
Then there was Evan Carr-Hall, an aspiring wide receiver/defensive back who ventured to Huntington from Toronto, Canada.
Carr-Hall and his father, Bob Hall, were drawn to the Marshall experience by the "We Are Marshall" movie, chronicling the community's comeback from the 1970 Marshall football plane crash. After renting and later purchasing the DVD, the Halls visited www.herdzone.com and registered for the kickoff of Marshall's summer camp season.
"We decided to come down for the day and every penny was worth it," Bob Hall said. "It was fantastic. We don't get football training like you do here so it was really, really ... he learned so much here in one day.
"The coaches were fabulous. The whole experience was tremendous."
The elder Hall made the most of Saturday, taking in the entirety of Marshall's unique history. He visited the nearby gravesite of several Marshall plane crash victims, tying movie to reality.
"I had to, to pay respects," Hall said.
Meanwhile, Carr-Hall received hands-on instruction from the Thundering Herd coaching staff.
"They taught me a lot of stuff that I didn't even know," Carr-Hall said. "It was very, very helpful."
Closer to home, Matt Clarke echoed his fellow camper.
"It was an amazing camp," said Clarke, who attended from Franklin Furnace Ohio's Green High School. "It was real good. It was hands on. We learned a lot of information that we need to go to college."
While Clarke and Carr-Hall competed in seven-on-seven games with fellow high-schoolers, the mood was a bit lighter downfield where the youngest of campers played under Snyder's guidance. Campers of varying ages said the same when asked what they learned most from the day-long session - "team spirit."
That tone was established early when football enthusiasts nearly 600 miles removed from Edwards Stadium were welcomed by Marshall's football family.
"The moment we walked in, they greeted us right until the end," Bob Hall. "You couldn't ask for a better experience.
"He's a very good player so I wanted to see how he would stack up against the West Virginia, Ohio boys and he did well."
Marshall's summer camp season continues today with a senior advanced camp and concludes next Saturday with a second camp for grades 1-12.
