NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- Football teams and the military may be different, but they use similar tools to accomplish their respective goals. Work ethic, teamwork, strength and resiliency are all important on both teams.
The last couple weeks have seen Old Dominion and the Navy get a look into each other's worlds.
The Monarchs hosted a group of pilots from a Navy flight demo team for a circuit of agility drills at the end of practice on Thursday, a session that lasted for about 30 minutes. This was the Navy's return visit, after ODU's football team made a trip to Naval Air Station Oceana to view a jet demonstration last week.
"I thought our guys did a great job," said Monarchs' head coach Ricky Rahne. "They really supported them and wanted them to do great and it was a great opportunity for our guys."
"All of them were motivating us, letting us know where to go, letting us know how to accomplish each drill, high fives and what not, positive words," added Lt. Marty Wilson, an 16-year veteran of the Navy and current instructor pilot. "I think that says a lot about these athletes."
The pilots joined the players during their drills, taking part in sprints, cutting around posts and cones and working up a sweat.
"One thing that's really important for athletes to understand is that the other walks of life want to be you," Rahne pointed out. "They want to be able to experience that. Just like our guys want to be musicians and all that sort of stuff, the musicians all want to be athletes, so take advantage of the opportunities that you have and know that this is a pretty special deal to be able to play college football and I think this was a great reminder of that."
Wilson acknowledged that a football team and Navy pilots have different definitions of winning, but also knows the groups have some similarities as well, which were evident during each respective visit.
"There's commonalities between the two organizations," he noted. "Today the two that I saw were teamwork and diligence to detail and that applies to our organization, it applies to theirs and sharing those things and strengthening those ideals is great."
The Navy pulls people from all across the country to Hampton Roads. Rahne knows that many have their favorite college football teams from wherever they may call home, but said he at least hopes Old Dominion can be everybody's "second-favorite" team.
"I understand there's a lot of young men and women over there that love college football and can't go see their team play, but want to still experience that atmosphere," he said. "I'd love for them to come out to the stadium and fill up half of it and go crazy and have some fun and know that they're going to be supported within our community as well."
Old Dominion and the Navy have done similar activities in the past, but Rahne noted that they were not as frequent since the COVID-19 pandemic. Both organizations hope that more activities together will follow.
The Monarchs kick off their season August 31 at South Carolina.
