NORFOLK — About a year ago, former Lake Taylor High star Jalyn Holmes had an idea to create a football camp that would be different from others.
Not only would campers learn about football, but they would also learn about life off the field.
“I shared this vision with Vaughn last year during (organized team activities),” Holmes said about his late stepfather, Vaughn Parker. “I just wanted to get 15 to 20 kids in a room and talk about real-life stuff. Teach them the same stuff that we do at the college and NFL level.”
Sadly, Parker never got to see his stepson’s idea come to fruition. He died by suicide on June 11.
To honor his stepfather, Holmes, a defensive lineman for the New York Jets, started a football academy — not a camp — with the introduction of the “Vaughn’s Way Defensive Line Academy.”
“I don’t want to just teach them the basics of football, but about life and how to be an entrepreneur,” Holmes said. “It’s such a learning curve from high school to college. We’re just trying to get them ahead of the game, whether it’s life or football.”
Holmes was a two-time, first-team All-Tidewater selection at Lake Taylor. He helped lead the Titans to the program’s first state title in 2012.
He went to Ohio State and was a two-time All-Big Ten Conference selection. He had 85 career tackles and helped lead the Buckeyes to the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship.
The Minnesota Vikings drafted Holmes in the fourth round with the 102nd overall pick in 2018.
He’s also played with the New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, Chicago Bears and the past two seasons with the Jets.
He brings his lessons from the NFL to help future players.
Asked if he wish he had something like this when he was coming up, he said, “They don’t know how lucky they got it.”
Holmes brought in current and former NFL players along with trainers and local businessmen to help educate the more than 15 players who came to his invitation-only academy.
“It’s not your normal football camp,” he said. “They’re getting the top-notch of everything.”
He also got plenty of help and support from this mother, Tasha Holmes-Parker, to make the event a success.
One of the first things players had to do was develop an “elevator pitch” — a brief way of introducing yourself with a key point or two, and making a connection with someone.
Participants also learned about public speaking and business options before they even set foot on the football field.
Tallwood High lineman Namarih Byrd said he’s glad he came to the academy.
“I just wanted to be a sponge,” he said. “I wanted to learn as much as I can from Jalyn Holmes and become a dominant factor on the football field.”
Atlantic Shores Christian lineman Aric Cooper said he came after getting a text from his father. After he looked up who Holmes was, he was even more excited to come.
“I was like, ‘Why not?’ There’s always a chance to get better,” he said. “You want to learn new things. There’s always room to get better, whether on the field or off.”
For Lake Taylor lineman Kaleb Shortridge, it was a chance to learn from a former Titans standout.
“We were out on the field learning how to play the gaps, learning different pass rusher’s moves and then we went back into the fieldhouse and then watched some NFL players do what we were just getting taught on the field,” he said. “I’m very happy and glad that someone who went to my own high school has come back to their hometown to do good in their community.”
