OHIO NATIONAL Guard Sergeant First Class Lance Delbrugge puts the Bridgeport football team through a workout recently as part of the Ohio Army National Guard’s partnership with the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association. Along with Bridgeport, Delbrugge, who is a Martins Ferry graduate, oversaw a workout at Barnesville, as well.

No matter the sport, discipline and hard work are two of the key components to eventual success.

Add in the fact that seemingly every athletic team is looking for a sort of extra motivation, too.

These intangibles are especially true in football. But, they’re especially poignant for the United States Military, too.

The Ohio Army National Guard has been doing its part to help combine the two through a partnership with the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association to bring “conditioning boot camps” to schools.

The camps have recently made stops at both Barnesville and Bridgeport, putting both the Shamrocks and Bulldogs football teams through the camps, which include team building, military-style training and football-related drills as well as motivational instruction.

“We test the student-athletes mentally and physically,” Sergeant First Class Lance Delbrugge said. “I feel that the camps are a good opportunity (for the student-athletes) to measure where they are in their own fitness and endurance.”

Delbrugge, who is a 2002 graduate of Martins Ferry and a recruiter for the Ohio Army National Guard in Belmont, Harrison and Jefferson Counties, oversaw both camps.

“The players build themselves through training,” Delbrugge said. “It’s tough, but it shows them the importance of camaraderie and leaning on your teammates. By the end of the camp, they’re all cheering for each other to succeed.”

The Bulldogs have become one of the yearly camps that Delbrugge has done. This was the third consecutive summer Coach Fred Ray’s team has went through the workouts.

“The National Guard boot camp is great for team building,” Ray said. “It’s challenging, but they do a great job of encouraging the kids to give their all in each drill they take part in.”

According to Ray, while the coaches observe the players going through the workout, they’re not just watching to see who the fastest or strongest player is.

“We’re able to identify who the leaders are among the guys who participated,” Ray said. “Since we’ve been through it before, our guys know how challenging it is, but they’ve responded better each time we’ve done from the previous year.”

Delbrugge was the chief speaker during the motivational portion of the workout. He focused his speech on “being a better person.”

“I spoke about the importance of commitment, values and responsible social media use,” Delbrugge said.

Allen was impressed by the entire program the National Guard put forth. He knows the physical training will be beneficial as his Shamrocks work toward their season opener on Aug. 19 against Buckeye Local. But, he’s just as interested in how his players respond to the messages that were provided.

“The National Guard spoke to the boys and incorporated activities that focused on discipline, respect, commitment, accountability and teamwork,” Allen said. “All of those are essential qualities to becoming a successful football team, but more importantly, essential to becoming a good person.”

According to Allen, the Shamrock players were “nervous and unsure” when the workout was set to begin.

“Once they got going, the kids loved it and really enjoyed the challenge,” Allen said. “I’ve grateful that the National Guard provided this opportunity and I look forward to doing it again in the future.”

Actually, a future with the Ohio National Guard, which includes 11,500 citizen-soldiers and 100 units across the state, is how Delbrugge concludes the program.

“I wrap up the camp by explaining to (the athletes) what the Ohio Army National Guard does and give them an opportunity to see if they qualify for enlistment,” Delbrugge said.