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Hard-hitting former LHS star readies for action in World Football Championships
The day after he graduated from Liberty High, Corey Lillard woke up at 4 a.m., got a ride to Dulles Airport and took a flight to Akron, Ohio.
While many teenagers are celebrating their freedom by cavorting at beach settings from Maryland to Myrtle Beach, Lillard was beginning the process of becoming a college football player.
Selected to play for Team USA in the inaugural International Federation of American Football Junior World Championships in Canton, Ohio, Lillard has spent the last 13 days training for the first of three games against international foes.
A group of 18-year-olds from France will taste the full force of Lillard and Team USA Saturday at Fawcett Stadium, the site of all the games.
“It happened pretty fast. I said goodbye to my friends and came out here,” said Lillard, whose legendary four-year varsity career earned him a football scholarship to the University of Virginia this fall.
When he got off the plane in Ohio there were a series of drivers waiting to take the players to the campus of Walsh University in North Canton, where they’re staying. The guys were photographed for publicity purposes, then led to a room to select some Under Armour clothing.
“They gave us a ton of stuff. From cleats, to gloves to polo shirts. Anything you can think of, you got it. And you get to keep the stuff,” said Lillard. “It was like Christmas.”
They were shown to their accommodations in the Walsh University dorms Lillard is staying with several teammates in a four-bedroom, two-bathroom suite. “I got lucky. I got a room by myself. Two other rooms have bunkbeds.”
That night there was fancy meal. “We had to dress up,” said Lillard.
The next day meetings and training began.
This event, hosted by USA Football, is a like a version of a youth football Olympics, with the USA as the heavy favorite. While no one is saying the other seven countries – France, Germany, Sweden, Canada, New Zealand, Japan or MExico – can’t win, Lillard and his teammates, who represent some of the finest incoming college freshmen in the country, know their historical responsibility.
“The importance of this is big. Man, the United States created football," said Lillard. "This title should always be in the U.S. We should walk home with gold medals on our necks and nothing less.”
Lillard has quickly fallen into routine. The team practiced twice a day the first week, and cut that back to once daily as the games approached.
Lillard is playing a position called “adjuster,” which is kind of a combination defensive back and linebacker.
The Adjuster? Sounds like a high voltage action movie along the lines of The Transporter...
See the Friday print issue of the Fauquier Times-Democrat Weekend Edition for the complete story.
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