o HO form r players
i Billy Harri , a former defensive
no e tackle with the University of
Michigan from 19 -87. Harris is
now a four-year veteran with the De
troi t Drive, the local franchi e in the
Arena League.
Harris play both defensive tackle
and offensiv center. The 6 'Ott 270 lb
All Big Ten lineman is very glad to
be back playing.
"After graduating from U-M I
was out of footbaU for two years,"
Harris said. "I had an empty feeling
i id
game. Bein
tough b it w
mi ing from my lif ."
Durin that tim Harri obtained
job i tant f 'ill ty director t
W Y Stat Univ ity and eoncen-
tra don ot r Uri n that wcre going
on in hi life. Littl did h now, the
opportunity to pl y pro football w
lot 10 er than he til ught,
ttl w' wat hi th Wayne Stat
football practi e one day whenI m t
up wi th then Drive Head ach and
WSU i tant Co h Dave Win
ham." Harri aid. "He ked me
about the opportunity of playing for
t Detroit Drive in 1 tI
"I had a lot of thing going for m
but the opportunity to play pro ball
came up again. So I took advantage
of it and th gamble paid off."
Ham h been on of the main
players which helped the Detroit
Drive to three consecutive Arena
Bowl Championships.
Arena football i played indoors
during the summer months in eli
mate-control1ed ports arenas (The
Drive play aU home gam at .Joe
Lot(js Arena). The field is played on
a hockey arena sized padded artifi
cial turf field which is 85 feet wide
and 198 feet long (The fie�d of play
is 50 yards). The hockey walls are
padded with high density foam.
. There are eight players on each side
of,the ball. The players aren't � big
the conv nti nal NFL of CFL
play r, but faster, quicker and hit
j t bani.
"It' called the '50-yard War' or
'Ironman Football' beca e it i ,"
H rri explained. "It � lot of
tamina to pi y both way like I do.
You don't need to b big li e the
NFL or CFL team . It' a lot of fun
beca e it' different.
Ham hasn't play both way (of
fens and defense) ince hi high
cb I days in Xenia, Ohio. He aid
doing it again for the Drive was a
challenge, but h h gotten use to it.
"I'm v ry comfortable playing
both way now," Ham explained.
"Three years ago I wasn't. ow,
when I get on offense, it's like a
chaUenge to take on a good player
who i on defense and try to stop him
because it's not my specialty." ,
ttl try to get tho job done now. On
offense you can't be aggressive, you
have to be patient. It's been an ad
justment, but I've been doing pretty
well."
Although some critics are sur
prised by th popularity of Arena
Football, Harris isn't. The fans in
Detroit have turned out in droves to
see the four-time Arena Bowl Cham
pions.
"I'm not really surprised that the
game has grown to great proportions,
but the league still bas some hills to
climb, be said."It's amaner of find
ing the right cities with the right mar-
BILLY HARRIS
ket. Some cities do well while oth rs
don't."
"We (The Drive) are in a high ,
sports market, but we till do well
bere because we're winning. If you
win in Detroit the fans will upport
you. "
The former U-M standout i look
ing b yond football. He's currently
working on his masters at WSU and
concentrat.ng on sports administra
tion at the collegiate level. He c�n
eluded that as long as he's playing
football he prefers playing in Detroit.
"As long as my football career
continues, I prefer playing for the
Drive. I have no regrets not making
the NFL or CFL.l'm just glad I had
the opportunity to play pro ball and
I thank the Drive for giving me the
chance."
Several area youth t nd in line to regi ter for th Wayn State Univer ity' National Youth
Sport Program (WSU/NYSP).
all th fa iliti are under one roof or
confined to one area."
Wayne State i n't the only colle e
that offers the NCAA/NYSP Pro
gram. There are NYSP program at
the University of Detroit (which has
had the program for 15 years), Mott
C rnmunity College in Flint nd
Wayne County Community College
(which i in itt econd year).
"THEY AL llA V�: very nice
program ." Vit Iino aid. "All the in-
tructo� in th program at all the
I cations are highly qualil1ed. Mo t of
them are teachers from th Detroit
Public School while othe arc cur
rent nd fonner high chool and col
lege co hes."
One of the NYSP inst ctors i
J e Sadler, a former istant track
ach at W U. S dler h' n with
th program f r 1 y r; and i th
WSU SP Area Dlr tor.
"Each course has
they are divided i oto thr age group
f 40. There ar the 10-11 year old ,
12-13 year olds and the 14-1 year
olds. I have each of th the groups a
different period" Sadler aid.
"In my clas , I teach tra k and
field kills. I tress three different
areas throughout jhe ummer in
truction " Sadler expJained.
"HEY TH field events
(long jump.tripl jump, h t put and
the discus) the running events which
rang from the 50 yard d h to the
mile and relay even ,which consi t
of the 44 , and mile relays." ...
"What I tr i di ciplln , edu-
tion' and phy icaJ fitn through-
out the year, not just in th ummer."
S'dler xplained th children'
interests in the cl e are very
trong and many of th m are XCI led
and anxious to learn.
"The kids are enth iastic not only
of th track cl ,ut the entire pro-
gram" pe aid.
"In my 19 years I've n v r had
any maj r problem. Mo to the kiru
h re are well-mann red. We a1 h ve
a lot con em paren truit com
down and watch their ki participate
which contri ut to their ucces ."
Anotherinstructori Damella F -
ter, a former tenni player who is one
of the racquetball' instructo for the
program. Thi is Fo ter's first year
with the NYSP Program.
"TH PR RAMI· abeautiful
one" Fo ter cxclaimed. "The tuden
eem t enjoy racqu tball clas ."
"I'm having uch a g d experi
ence with th children. Some of the
kids never played racqu tball before
and [hey ar howing reat prog�
in their pi ying ability."
-A ordi ng to Vitolino there i
more t� thi program than just ports
in�tru tion.
o PROVID ... the chil
dren who are enrolled in the program
with a free physical examination," Vi
tolin explained. "The ervi i con
ducted by the WSU Medical School."
that t NY P
Pro m ntinu l grow by add-
ing more athletic tiviti mor
chi Id ren � participa .
I-For 0 troi t
Driv quarterb Gil rt R n-
froe, playi di erent tyle 0
I' no urpri e. Th form i
Ten ee State tand ut h
pi yed ix in the Cana-
dian Football League tartin
quart Jbac . So adj usting t the
are football gam w n't mu h
of a big deal.
"I find ar na football v ry in-
tin "Renf id. "It I
athIet be athIet . You Just 0
out there and play."
"The gam i ed on r ,GILBERT RENFROE
tion unlike regular foot all which
i b ed on just plain trategy."
Renfroe explained.
"If you're a good athlete in thi gam you'll play. Th gam i n't
difficult, but you can't underestimat anyone you re playing against.
Everyone on the field has ometyp oftcam d or quickness. You have
to go out th re and be productive.
"The indoor game i fun and th climate i ntroll d, but th drawback
is the carpeted twf, which creates a higher ri k 0 injury. There i 8
trade-o, there with regular football, but the arena game i a treat �ith the
fans."
RENFRO 8 Every produ tiv . Last year he completed 103
of 194 passes for 1,417 yards and quarterbacked the Detroit Drive to if
fourth Arena Bowl Championship. Thi i hi 000 cason with Detroit
and 0 far this eason Renfroe has led th Drive JO an 8-1 record it' first
nine games.
The I t time Renfroe played traditional football w when h w on
the campus of Tenn ee Stat University (fSU) from-1 2 to 19 .
Originally from Tuskegee, Alabama, Renfroe cho TSU over hi
hometown college of Tuske ee Institute for various OIlS.
"Te ee State'i one 0 the most prestigio 'B1 k Colle in the
country when it came to athletics," Renfroe explained. "1 could ha
played for T , but their p"? m w n t d b k then. Th
knew,1 had great potential and understood why Fwent to TSU.
"It w. a thrill to play against the llk of Jac on State, Southern
University, Alcorn State and especially Grambling State and their legen
dary coach Eddie Robinson" h explained. "But it was a greater horor to
play for a another legend in Tennes ee State F tball, John Barret, -ny
head coach who died my junior year."
"He (Barret) was a great coach and a wonderful man to be around. It
was a pleasure to know him."
RENFROE AY TIIAThi years playin forth TSUTlgcrshelped
prepare him for his careers in the CFL and th Arena League. The level
of play was a lot better than m t people think.
'The competition in Bl ck College football was just : good or even
better than orne Divi ion I-A chool ." he aid. I The competition i ,
alway clo , and wide open. Af\ the TSU I 'elf, the chool was and till is
a cl e knit community with it' alumni, tradition and lu tory."
"We only had an enrollment of 5,500 tudents, but we were like family.
You were able to g t to know ev ryone around the campus."
Upon graduating from TSU. Renfroe was waiting for hi tum in th
NFL Draft, but it never happened. But thanks to the Ottawa Roughriders
of the CFt., hi dream to play pro ball was kept all c.
"I WAS EXPE r n t get drafted by the NFL that year 19 5),"
Renfroe recalled. "I was hoping to get pick d in th fourth through eighth
rounds. It never happened. I turn d down pi nty of free agent offers by
several NFL teams, but if I had made one of them. I would have ended
up on the bench for three to four years and my career would have been
over."
"When 1 w dra ted y Ottawa I d ided to go t Can da because I
knew I would g t more playin time."
Th Can dian game i di crcnt than the ame played in the U .. The
field i 10 yards Ion er wrth th cndz n 1 y rd d 'per (Compared to
th U.S. field whi h i 1 yard! I n with endzon '1 yards deep),
th ret no fair atches on punts, ki .ks must run out of the endzone or
a single point i award d t the kickin team, and each team i given three
downs to move th all . mparcd to four d wns U.S,). But the bigg t
difference i thatth on begins in July and end in ovem rwithth
Grey Cup Champi rship Game.
Renfroe aid th tyle W' dif erent, ut it ave him a han
'experience a different type of arne in a diff rent type of ulture.
"TH FL W very di Icrcnt to what I W' playing at Tcnn ' ce
State. The weather w' , a f tor so the ram were hedulcd to avoid
frigid weather unlike th FL wtu h has It' play-of games in th dead
of winter" h aid.
, "As for the tyle 0 pI y, you only have two d wns to move the ball,
but from the quartcrba ks pcrsp 'tl e y u only have two d ns to mov
the ball anyway. 1 was very glad to play pro b 11 in Canada bccaus it gav ,
me a chance to play and get expo sure and cxperi nee a different culture."
Renfroe played one year With Ottawa b fore b in traded to th
Toronto Argonaun (at. of the CFL) t r th next f ur ons. He
returned to th U.S. to pla for the Atlanta Falc ns aft r pI ying out hi
option with T ronto. H w' cut by the FIns lat r on during the
pre- easonand returned to th FL to play or the calgary Stamped � f r
th remainder of 1 1.
The TSU 'tandout wiater si ned by the D troit Dri e I' t Y 'r and
� been a fa tor in their drive for (ly. hamplonship.
"Lenjoy piaym h reo Th fans h r m Detroit ar' reat and I hop'
more fans com out and cc
Dh''ROIT. MI-For many of the
city' youth, ummertime signals the
end of school, and the beginning of
summer camp, baseball, oftball,
swimming and other programs. But
for other, youth, th e a tivities aren't
attainable because of the lack of facili
ties. But thanks to a certain ummer
program these kid also have a
, chance ,t enjoy their urnmer vaca
tion.
The National Collegiate Athletic
As ociation (NCAA) and Wayne
State University have been running
the National Youth Sports Program
on the the University' campus for the
I t 25 yea . The program i a com
bincd ports, educational and instruc
tional pro ram for youth tween the
g 1 -16. The program has been a
proven. ucc ss.
"It' been a popular program here
at WSU ince 1968," aid
WSU/NYSP Activity Director Gun
narVitolino. "We alway haveawait
ing list. Ea hummer we've taken
450 kids and till have 40 to 50
yout�onthew�tingli t. We try to • ����������������������������������������
get th kids 0 f of it l the waiting Ii t]
and into the pr gram oon we get
a vacancy. Sorry to say, we have to
tum away a few."
The NYSP Program at WSU,
whi hbeganJuly 1 t and will run until
August of eJ'S 11 ports for th chil
dren to choo from: wirnrning, bas
ketball, gy rnru ti ,tenni, wei ht
training, modem dance, flag f ot
balt.racqu t all, track and field, vol
leyball and oftball.
By HARRY M. ANI?ERSON, Jr.
Spec,.1 to th Mlchlg.n Citizen
K
wimmi ng and choo e tw th r
ports for the entire pr grdm," Vi
tolino ·aid. "Swimming I mandatory
for all tuden because we feel it'
Important for kids to kn h t
wim well. We have inning and
advan cl , .
The NYSP Program participants
use th ame recreation I fa iliti
available t university tudents.
"Everytrung that's availabl to th
COllege �tud n i available to th
youn tc ," Vitolino explained. "We
hav xcellent fa iliti . Very few
ummer programs haVe f; cHities like
thi . Th mo t important figure i that