Just off highway 128 River’s Edge indoor sports complex is the home of the Rocky Boiman Football Academy. This is where he trains athletes from Elder, Moeller, St. Xavier, LaSalle, Ross, East Central,and other schools. Rocky’s training styles are homemade and they kick your butt. These are exercises you would do on a farm or on a construction sight. They include hauling weights, slamming a hammer against a tire, and even hold your body weight with the grip of your hand. Things that burn you and leave you crying and cramping. Rocky was just like us, a GCL football player that has great success. Rocky Boiman was a St. Xavier graduate who went on to Notre Dame. At Notre Dame, Rocky was a part of a Fiesta Bowl and then went on to the NFL for nine years. Boiman would be a part of the 2007 Colts Super bowl team. He was the special teams captain for the Colts. With his last year in Pittsburgh, Rocky retired and now is a Green township chairman trustee and the trainer of many local high school and grade school kids. Athletes from Elder trained by Rocky are Jake Hilvert, Jake Fishburn, Ben Klenk, and myself. Multiple kids from St. Xavier who are underclassmen also train with him. Many seniors from Moeller High School alsotrain with him, including Jimmy Ruedenberg, John Ruedenburg’s son, the headcoach of the Moeller football team. Most trainers are too serious and do not let fun enter the equation in regard to working out, but Rocky is different. He shares his beliefs, interest, and hobbies with his trainees. We talk all the time about politics or even just The Walking Dead . It truly makes working out fun and enjoyable to do. Now, I would say that it isthe hardest work outs I have ever done. Rocky stresses on comaraderie within a small group of guys over having massive groups just for more profit. Since Rocky has had plenty of experience in the NFL, he knows what work outs are necessary and what are not. I am playing football next year for the University of Indianapolis and I showed Rocky my work out schedule. He reviewed it and corrected what he thought I should do instead. “I keep things moving, I coach people hard,” said Boiman. He is a great guide for what you should do to prepare yourself for the college or high school level. Though hard, his workouts are reasonable with respect to resting. On days where he feels we have done a lot, we will do abs and a light run. He kills you within reason. I went to a work out that Rocky was holding for one of his trainees, Odayues Douglas Leonard Jr. or just ODJ Leonard, a ten year old at St. Vivian grade school. ODJ was even a part of a national tournament in Tennessee for football that his team won. He is training for football, and Rocky said that this kid is a great talent, but he keeps him away from actual lifting and sticks with the form and technique of running and playing football. “Especially with young kids, I try to teach running real early,” said Boiman. Rocky went on to add that it is better to grab a kid when he is young and teach him how to run rather than trying to teach him to run in high school. “He’ll be running and doing things as efficiently as possible,” Boiman added. When talking with ODJ, I asked him if the work out was hard and he said, “No, I’ve had worse with him!” Talking with his father, OD Leonard, I asked how he felt about Rocky’s training with his son. “The whole combination has gotten extremely better,” said OD. OD and ODJ have been customers of Rocky for two years and they both are very satisfied. After ODJ’s workout we sat around talking about dunking, and activity that OD can still do at the age of forty-one years old. ODJ one day would like to dunk like his father, and maybe like LBJ. I have been to other places andI have found a home at Rocky’s where I feel I am receiving the best training in town. To see more about Rocky and his football academy, visit http://www.rockyboimanfootballacademy.com/ and see for yourself. To view a video of ODJ’s workout click the video below. (it will be blocked when you are at Elder)