Being a lineman is often a thankless job in football.
Linemen usually aren't scoring touchdowns or getting the attention that the skill positions draw, but what they do in the trenches is incredibly important.
Four years ago in Portland, former NFL tackle Stan Brock decided it was time to put on an event where he could impart his lineman knowledge. Along with the help of co-founder Shaun Minton, Trench Camp was born -- a high school football camp exclusively for linemen.
After having success in Portland and noticing a large number of attendees were actually from Washington, they took a chance and decided to expand.
"We were getting a lot of kids from this area so we thought we'd come a little north," Brock said. "We found that it has helped us a lot."
The Arlington High School football field has played host to the second session of Trench Camp this summer. Last year in Portland, Trench Camp had about 150 campers. This year, the Portland camp had 100 and this week's Arlington camp has 114.
Trench Camp's inception was a product of Brock working with other camps in the past. He found that most camps focus too much on making money and too little on the message Brock truly wanted to share.
"The football is just a piece of it," he said of Trench Camp. "I also want them to be better students, be better sons, I want them to be better brothers. I want them to understand that there's a special fit for a lineman."
Brock has hand-picked his coaching staff to help share this message. Among those at Arlington High this week are Manu Tuiasosopo (a former Seahawk first round pick who played nine NFL seasons), Kevin Gogan (three-time Pro Bowler and two-time Super Bowl champ with Dallas), and former Huskies Zach Tuiasosopo (Manu's son) and Cameron Elisara.
Manu Tuiasosopo's relationship with Brock dates back to his college days at UCLA, when Tuiasosopo tried to recruit Brock -- then a high school senior -- to come play with him for the Bruins. Brock ultimately chose Colorado, but the two stayed in touch over the years.
Four years ago, it was Brock doing the recruiting and Tuiasosopo hopped on board. He's now been a big part of the camp's expansion to the Seattle area.
"I've lived in Seattle ever since the Seahawks drafted me and I've been up here," Tuiasosopo said. "I raised my family up here, so it was a pride and joy for me to get the Seattle camp up and running in a way that [Brock] and Shaun [Minton] would be proud."
Brock takes his focus on lineman-only so seriously at Trench Camp that there aren't even footballs. It's purely drills and individual periods that focus on technique.
Eastside Catholic senior offensive lineman Nick Alling likes it that way.
"It lets you focus on what you do as a lineman," he said. "When you're a lineman, you don't worry about the ball at all. You just focus on your brothers around you and the guys across from you."
Alling was a part of the Eastside Catholic line that helped the Crusaders win the 3A state championship last season. Despite that success, EC's line is still trying to get better.
All but one of its projected starters on the offensive line are at Trench Camp this week, plus a number of the second- and third-string players.
"We already knew a lot of the technique stuff but these coaches really are strong at improving everything you've learned and just small fixes that make you better," Alling said.
Brock said he and Minton are potentially looking at expanding the camp into more states in the coming years.
Follow High School Sports Coordinator Pete Treperinas on Twitter: @ptreperinas or contact him at 206-448-3648
