If the 500 Killeen ISD student-athletes weren’t entirely sure what to expect out of their impending U.S. Army Experience as their Military Police-escorted buses rolled into Fort Hood on Wednesday morning, their questions were quickly answered when the doors slid open.
Booming voices from eager drill sergeants loudly signaled go-time and the athletes from Chaparral, Ellison, Harker Heights, Killeen and Shoemaker were suddenly entrenched into a basic training challenge –– herded into formation and immediately introduced to a round of calisthenics.
And that was just the first 5 minutes.
“They get to see what the Army is all about,” said Sergeant First Class Leroy Betts III, who in 2017 with former Harker Heights strength and conditioning coach Garson Skelton formed the event that has grown from one school and 100 athletes and to more than 1,000 athletes from across the state, reaching as far as the Metroplex to Houston.
On Wednesday, KISD’s athletes were joined by students from DeSoto ISD.
“Hopefully, they will take this as a lifelong learning skill and be productive members of society,” Betts added.
It certainly appeared to be an eye-opening –– perhaps exhausting –– few hours, and another example of the strategic partnership between KISD and Fort Hood.
“Fort Hood is such a huge part of our community and getting the kids exposed to another avenue that some may have thought about and some have not is really important. Our job as educators is to open up their eyes to the opportunities that they have in front of them. And this is one way to do that while also helping our athletic programs,” KISD executive director for athletics Latisha Williams said.
“This is a way to see an absolute connection between what athletics does and the real world. We’ve already heard about discipline and commitment, and that’s what we talk about with our athletes as well. Those are characteristics that we want our kids to embody.”
Grouped by school, the athletes first heard from Lieutenant General Kevin D. Admiral, the Commanding General of the III Armored Corps on Fort Hood and watched an enlistment ceremony for new recruits.
From there, the movement rarely ceased.
“It’s definitely tough. I didn’t expect them to come at us like that but it’s really about leadership and passion, and I want to get it right,” Killeen freshman football player Kendrick Weathers said. “I’m very grateful to be here.”
Aaliyah Lee, an Ellison junior volleyball player, said she and her peers knew they would get the hardcore experience from the drill sergeants.
“It was a little scary when we first arrived, but I appreciate the discipline,” she said. “This is a whole different level. It’s very structured.”
Betts explained that the basic training challenge was designed to enhance what coaches are already implementing with their teams as well as bring to life the Army’s seven core values: loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage.
And a 360-degree scan of the vast landscape filled with athletes climbing rope ladders, scaling walls, counting out pushups, sit-ups and pull-ups, flipping tires, lugging weight plates, and more, revealed budding teamwork and camaraderie, bonding, tenacity, fortitude and a fight to finish what was started no matter how difficult it felt.
“This is teaching us to compete and work as a team to overcome adversity to achieve triumphs,” said Shoemaker sophomore Connor Smith, who plays football and soccer.
Chaparral junior Gianelie Hernandez, a cadet in the KISD firefighter academy, volleyball player and powerlifter said that although the challenge was tough, it also had its fun moments.
“I think we’re learning resilience, to keep going even when it’s hard,” Hernandez said. “They are yelling at us, so we have to keep going and be determined. It’s about hard work.”
Harker Heights wrestling coach Kris Perkins, who retired out of Fort Hood as a Sergeant First Class in 2011 after 21 years of service, was one of the many KISD coaches on hand to watch their athletes take on the physical tests.
“If they are not a military kid, what happens between these gates is kind of a mystery, so it breaks that barrier down, and they get a glimpse of what will be expected of them in the future no matter what career they pursue,” Perkins said. “All the athletes from different sports are working together with the drill sergeants leading the way, so it brings everybody closer together.”
The U.S. Army Experience continues on Fort Hood on Thursday and Friday with a career expo.
More photos from Wednesday’s basic training can be viewed on KISD’s Flickr page here.