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Washington to offer instruction for young athletes
By Michael Butler
In 2011, Demond Washington was given a key to the city. Quite a bit has happened since that momentus occasion in Washington's hometown of Tallassee. A pro football career is now in the books.
At age 32, Washington will soon be assisting young athletes with speed and agility drills at the Tallassee Bonded Warehouse.
"I want to give it back, because I didn't have it. I learned it over the years of playing. I gained that knowledge. I was blessed with talent, but I didn't maximize my potential by training. I made it harder for myself. God put in the position to go out and play football and learn, so I can now give it to the guys I know."
An all-state senior at Tallassee in 2006, Washington played college football at Gulf Coast Community College and Auburn. He was on the Tigers' 2010 national championship team under head coach Gene Chizik. His professional career spanned seven years in the Canadian Football League with Winnipeg and Hamilton.
Washington was close to making the Kansas City Chiefs squad out of college.
"It was the year of the lockout. I made it to the last day of training camp. I started looking at workouts in the CFL. I worked out for Toronto in Florida and Winnipeg in Atlanta. It took off. I had a chance to go back to the NFL, but declined because I was doing so good in the CFL."
Sessions with young athletes will be starting soon. More details to come.
"It's helping the kids to get in tune with their bodies; footwork, speed, acceleration, lateral movement - all these things athletes will need no matter what sport they're playing. The coaches don't really have enough time to prepare the athletes. That's where I come in. I'm not teaching X's and O's. This is something I'm doing to give back to the kids, so the next sporting event they're at their full potential."
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