Learning the basics from the best
NFL players visit youth skills camp in Westlake
By Stephen Dorman sdorman@theacorn.com

DROP BACK-Brenner Marsh, 9, of Agoura displays solid footwork and good throwing technique last Saturday at Westlake High School.

Ten current and former NFL players were on hand Saturday morning for the Proactive High Performance Football Skills and Speed Training Clinic at Westlake High.

For three hours under the hot Conejo Valley sun, the professional ballplayers and other local coaches and trainers helped instruct a group of approximately 70 young athletes in the various ways they can properly prepare their bodies for the game of football.

"If you can impact five or six kids, or even one or two, then you feel like you helped that guy get to where he is, just like somebody helped me get to where I am," said Oliver Ross, a 6-foot-4, 325pound offensive tackle for the Arizona Cardinals.

"It's just about giving back and showing them the techniques that they can use and take home to work on," Ross said. "I basically helped the offensive linemen and answered any questions they had."

Saturday's camp was put on by Westlake-based Proactive Sports Performance. The company's executive director, Ryan Capretta, has previously worked as a strength and conditioning coach for the Baltimore Ravens, Cardinals and at Stanford University.

Capretta, 29, said establishing tempo and utilizing proper technique were the two most important lessons he wanted the players take home from the day's training sessions.

"The main thing was to show them some tools they could take with them when they are away from here," he said. "When you continue to work with the kids, that's when you really see the results."

While most of the participants were youths still in their Pop Warner years, there were a few local high school players who came out to get some extra work in.

Thousand Oaks High quarterback Ryan Cloney has been training with Capretta and his crew for the majority of the offseason. Cloney said the hard work he's

put in over the last few months is really starting to pay dividends now that the regular season is drawing near.

"I can feel my game starting to go to the next level," said Cloney, who's receiving a lot of interest from San Diego State. "I feel confident going into the season after working with Ryan. He's a real professional in everything he does."

Recent Westlake graduate Jeff Miller, who'll play at UCLA in the fall, and Warrior senior defensive tackle Tyrone Duncan were also in the crowd.

Geno Sullivan was recently hired as the wide receivers coach at Cal Lutheran. On Saturday, however, he spent most of his morning instructing quarterbacks and keeping youngsters dressed in Randy Moss and Jeff Garcia jerseys in straight lines during running drills.

"It's a good thing for the kids, for the community and for us," Sullivan said. "We just wanted to let people to know who we are and what we do, and we wanted to teach the kids the fundamental things that can make them better athletes."