VTO Sports applies a unique approach to combine testing

– Dallas Jackson, NationalHSFootball.com

Prospects in the Atlantic East planning to attend a VTO Sports combine in January will walk into a familiar setting — you are going to run, and jump, and lift. It is a new, and important, difference that will make these stops dramatically better.

Starting with its Jan. 11 event in Greenville, South Carolina, the team of Vince Jacobs, Terence Lawshe, and Odis Lloyd will unveil the T3 approach to testing.

According to Lloyd it is a philosophical shift that is designed to improve the athletes through education.

“It is teach, test, and teach,” Lloyd said. “We have been around this business long enough to have seen what high school football combines have become and that is not what we think they need to be.

“We don’t think that kids are getting the most out of a combine experience by just showing up, getting run through the drills as fast as possible, and then clearing the field.”

The VTO Sports team has been operating combines since 2007 and has worked with premier athletes like Jadeveon Clowney, Da’Shawn Hand, and Jaylon Smith over the last six years.

They also have helped countless prospects get to other levels of college football.

All three of the founding members played collegiately.

Lloyd was the co-captain of the 1988, SWAC-winning, Arkansas Razorback football team along with Steve Atwater.

Lawshe played at Eastern Illinois University with now-New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton. He was part of the “Eastern Airlines” teams that were frequently over 300 yards passing.

Jacobs played at Alabama A&M, lettering all four years and starting two at offensive guard, before the trio became friends and business partners.

Lloyd said that the range of their personal, athletic accomplishments helps them to bring passion for all levels of athletes.

A four-year letterman at the highest level of college football himself, Lloyd said that his experience is not what most kids that come to any event should expect.

“I was blessed to have played at Arkansas but when you look at the number of kids playing high school ball and then who goes to the big-time it is a small number; so we want to make sure everyone can maximize their ability,” he said. “We have had kids like Da’Shawn Hand working out with us but there is only one Da’Shawn Hand every few years.

“We really think the T3 approach will help kids improve their skills and get them ready for what coaches are looking for. There are scholarship dollars to be earned at Division I-AA, Division II, Division III and so we want to make sure all levels of athlete take part in this.”

The combine day starts with the first teaching session where athletes are given instruction on proper form as well as other secrets to success in each event.

It is at this time that parents are also given instruction on handling recruiting from multiple angles. There is no cookie-cutter approach to handing the attention, or jumpstarting the process if a player is not getting his next opportunity.

Then comes the testing.

It is a standard combine lineup of the 40-yard dash, pro shuttle, vertical jump, three-cone drill, and bench press.

From there is another round of instruction. The trainers on hand will go through and help correct errors in form and execution.

Athletes are given coaching tips to improve their performance and shown drills that will help with explosiveness, raw speed, and change of direction improvement.

They are then re-tested to show improvement.

“It is a back to basics for us,” Lloyd said. “We think that doing teaching during the event is important. We don’t want kids to just show up and get their numbers, we want them to get better.

“What they test out at in the beginning versus what they test out at later on down the line should be improved. That is the goal.”

Registration has opened for all of the VTO Sports Combines and spots fill fast.

The first six events are all concentrated in a few hour radius of the home location of Charlotte, North Carolina, and all are being held at indoor sports facilities.

Greenville, South Carolina will host two events in January.

Charlotte as well as Raleigh will each host one and Atlanta will have two before the group moves to Mississippi, Arkansas, Ohio, Alabama, Virginia, and Florida in early February.

Lloyd said that the performances at these events can come with the added benefit of earning an invitation to the VTO Sports Elite 100 camps as well as the Rivals Camp Series presented by Under Armour.

“I think that is a major draw,” he said. “We have other events that are more about the football skills than the raw skills. We will get a chance to put eyes on these kids and test them but from there some kids will get asked to come back and compete in our Elite 100 events.

“Our partnerships help kids get more exposure. We have had guys come to a combine, get to a camp, and then be invited to major, national events like the Rivals250 Underclassman Challenge. That is just the order of things in recruiting right now and it starts early and it starts with getting to combines.”

Click for a complete list of VTO Sports Combines.