T2 - EliteTraining Camp
T2 Elite Training Camp
I had the opportunity to capture the energy and dedication on full display at the T2 Elite Training Camp, held at the Fieldhouse in Mishawaka. Designed for youth athletes ranging from 4th to 12th grade, the camp focused on sharpening football fundamentals through high-intensity drills and expert coaching.
It was clear this wasn’t just about physical conditioning—it was about building better athletes. Sessions emphasized key elements like technique, speed, power, balance, and leadership. Whether it was footwork drills, agility cones, or strength circuits, each athlete pushed themselves with purpose.
T2 Sports Performance - Elite Training Summer Camp
Yesterday, one of my students who works at T2 Sports Performance invited me to come take pictures with her at their summer Elite Training Camp. This was the second camp I have been to this summer, but this was a little more up my alley, it was a sports camp. The Training was for youth 4th through 12th grade who were interested in leveling up their skills for football. I didn’t know what to expect when I showed up, so of course half the equipment I brought I didn’t need. I thought they were going to be in a dimly lit area, based on the previous photos I had seen from my student. But I did bring the most important part, my camera and my love of sports, and that was all I needed.
The indoor practice football field
This was the first time I had ever been out to their facility in Mishawaka called “The Fieldhouse.” The place was huge and amazing. The camp was held in the indoor football field, which might have been the actual size of a football field. That was right next to all the indoor tennis and paddle ball courts. On the other side of the building was the indoor basketball gym. When I say this place was huge, I mean it was immense. I had heard about this place, briefly here and there, but never knew the extent of what they had there. If you have never been there, you should definitely go check it out. You will be just as surprised as I was.
Tevin Lake - Main Trainer of the T2 Elite Training Camp
The camps main instructor was Tevin Lake. He himself was no joke, the guy was buff and looked like he could suit up for any football team today. He took the players through all kinds of drills, mostly basic football drills you would get at any good program. He had two assistant and as a staff they made sure every player was doing every drill correctly. This was probably the key aspect of the camp, attention to detail and running the drills the right way. The staff’s message to the players was “if you want to be better than average, it starts right here.” They made sure to reiterate that point numerous times and made sure to include the fact that it wasn’t going to be easy. To be great meant to work and keep working because some people were jut more talented and others worked harder to be the best. I loved that coaching point, and Tevin made sure to point that out when he said “I’m not trying to be mean or an A-hole, I’m just being honest about what it’s going to take to be better than good, better than average.”
Camp Players running through ladders drills
The youth attending the camp were a mix in ages from middle school to high school athletes, but the coaches had them all working together as one large group. One thing the coaches were trying to find out was who was going to be a leader, vocal and push the others to do and try harder. That was interesting to see because the coaches were being honest with them when they said that many of the younger athletes were being more of a leader than the older ones. It was good to see the athletes and how they handled the atmosphere, being pushed and someone telling them that they are doing it wrong and to do it correctly. They all handled themselves very well and listened to the coaches and didn’t argue when they were corrected or had to do the drill numerous times until they got it correct. Most of the drills they ran through emphasized foot speed, power and balance. Of course not all the athletes were able to replicate some of these exactly because of their age, body types and abilities, but it was a pleasure watching them try, especially those few future offensive linemen who were trying to do the wide-receiver or defensive back drills.
For me, the shot of the day was a little bit different than normal. I was really looking for a marketing shot, something T2 could use to market their program in the future. Some of the shots I was taking I was emphasizing different aspects of photography, such as leading lines, the rule of thirds, composition and aspect. But the shot that caught my eye was this photo of Coach Tevin demonstrating power on take off, having a solid base and digging your foot in pushing off aggressively. It also encompassed the rule of thirds as Coach Tevin is shifted in the right third of the photo so that T2 can include their logo, website or camp information to the left of the photo. Also, it’s never a bad idea to get a picture of the most physical specimen on the field for the best shots.
Elite Training Camp shot of the day
Penn vs Crown Point
Penn vs Crown Point, Sectional Championship 2024. Crown Point dominated Penn to take the victory 35-0.
I went to this Sectional Championship to take pictures of Penn, the majority of pictures I ended up getting were of taking of Crown Point. They dominated the game and won 35-0.
Washington vs Penn
Washington versus Penn, and the band, High School Football in Indiana.
Penn for the Touchdown
This past couple of weeks I have been thinking of how I could incorporate more of my job into my photography. I was thinking I would like to include more of my sports work into my blog and I sat down and thought, what’s going to be my angle. What am I going to focus on when I’m out working to see things from a different angle. I started doing a little bit of research, checking out other peoples pages and seeing what they focused on in their sports photography. What I noticed was that most of the work they were putting out really wasn’t focused on the actually game itself. Most of it was focused on pre-game, sidelines and all the in game moments. For me it was kind of out of realm because when I go to shoot a game, I’m shooting the game. What’s happing on the field, across the field, if I can reach that far, all the action. It never dawned on me to turn my camera toward the sidelines and take pictures of what’s not happening on the field but is still part of the game. So for our game against Penn, I turned the camera and go shots of the things I normally wouldn’t get pictures of.
QBs getting warmed up
In my research, I noticed a lot of pictures of the players warming up, getting ready for the game and how the photographers were focusing on random moments. I thought to myself, I can do that, I just need to focus on the students, not so much the action, but the action in terms of it being slower, not full speed tackling and running. I watched for the first few games and took pictures until I got comfortable and the game against Penn High School seemed to all come together for me. I was focusing on the sideline just as much as I was on the field and it was a little different than what I expected.
Coach Not Looking Happy
What I liked most was the emotions you could see on the players faces, even the ones that were not in the game. But the ones that were coming off the field, you could see how much the game was either wearing on them or how tired it was making them. I never really thought about how the game affected the coaches as well. I was always looking for that shot of the coaches talking with players or yelling at them when they messed up, I never really focused on them and how the game itself was unfolding. This game was tough for our side, we took a pretty good beating for the second week in a row and you could see it all on the coaches faces, as well as some of the players.
Penn High School Band
The other aspect I tried to focus on in pre-game was getting shots of the ambience and I was fortune that Penn has one of the biggest bands in the Area. I loved the band as part of High School Football. It reminds me of the when I was in high school and the bands playing our school song or that local favorite “Sweet Caroline.” Whenever I hear it, the hairs on my neck stand up a little and I can feel the electricity run through me, just like when we were about to kick off at the beginning of the game. Our school doesn’t have a band so taking pictures of another’s school band doesn’t weigh to heavily on my mind. Bands are awesome for high school football and I wish our school could have one. But getting the shots of the band was one of my favorite aspects of the night. These guys even wore birthday hats on the sideline while they were waiting to get onto the field. I wonder if it was one of their birthdays.
Catching the ball off the defenders head
Although we took a tough loos, I did try to get pictures of both teams playing. I am always looking for the best shots, whether they are on our side of the ball, or on our opponents side, I’m a fan of sports and I love capturing the best moments regardless of where they come from.
For me, my shot of the day came from the one place I never thought it would, pre-game. I was squatted down trying to get some shots of the band lining up before the game and they got into formation to play the national anthem. As I was raising myself to my feet, I happened to look up and see the band major standing at attention looking at the flag. Normally you see this and think nothing of it, but today, just the angle I was at from behind, with a ladder to their standing platform in the way, it just came all together for me. I saw that and had to get that shot and I did. I just hope it’s as nice a shot to you as it is for me.
National Anthem and the Raising of the Flag
