#LeedsAcademyPathways : Josh Carpenter (part one)

[All images courtesy of Royal Imperial Knights]

Part One

After two weeks of training camp the team is really starting to come together and gel, not just as offence and defence but as a whole unit that thrives off each other. The days are long and tough but are really good for fitness and development of my footballing knowledge and my adaption to the playbook put in by coach Brown.

The first game style scrimmage we had down in Paintsville, Kentucky against state championship finalists Johnson Central was a crazy experience of high school football and we came away with a lost and a lot to work on as a team, however being together for only 3 days prior we had a great performance with some real positives coming out of it.

The next day we were up and off on our way to Maryland to face Fort Hill the holding state champions and another team in a scrimmage. Again this helped highlight what we needed to develop to become a better team. We then set off on our 12 hour drive back to St Catharines which was a sight for tired eyes once we arrived.

The following week we set out to right all the wrongs from the weekend and added more plays to the offensive playbook ahead of the Backyard Blitz in Huber Heights, Ohio against Wayne High School, one of the highest ranked schools in the country. We arrived on the Friday and went to watch them play a game against Archbishop Wood Vikings which had incredible build up with a huge marching band and everything you could think of when you think football a spectacle I only imagined from college teams not high school. The game eventually got called off due to storm like weather.

The Saturday we had our turn to play and we turned up in style putting up 33 points and conceded none with a great aerial assault allowing us to run away with the result and the trophy in our first game of the season. The team is very excited for the rest of the season and can't wait to get back to work for next weekend against North East High School down in Philadelphia. This is a fantastic experience and I'm excited to continue to develop and thrive in this new football environment.