On a recent weekday, soldiers from Fort Hood arrived at Chaparral High School in Killeen, Texas, to lead a high‑intensity training session that felt more like a basic training exercise than a typical football practice.
A Unique Collaboration Between Army and Athletics
The drill was part of the U.S. Army Experience Basic Training Challenge, a team‑building program that partners military units with local high schools. Players donned body armor and moved through a series of stations designed to push them beyond their usual limits, emphasizing the Army’s core values of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage.
Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Betts III explained that the exercises were meant to complement the work of the high school coaches during the offseason, reinforcing the same principles that soldiers live by every day.
Head football coach Tyrell McCrea welcomed the opportunity, noting that the session gave him a clear view of which athletes could rise to the challenge when faced with physical and mental pressure.
Starting quarterback Bryson Coleman echoed the sentiment, stressing that the experience reminded the team that success on the field depends on putting the collective goal ahead of individual desires.
As the drills concluded, the Chaparral Bobcats left the field with a renewed sense of purpose, carrying the Army’s ‘be all you can be’ mindset into the upcoming preseason and playoffs.