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March 1 2015 – Istanbul Day Three – Day Two of Camp – Men and Women

March 1st, 2015

By:  Barkevious Mingo

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Wow!  Day 2 of our camp was a blast and I did not realize it was setting a statement for future generations to come.

We welcomed the under 19 men campers as well as approximately 50 Flag Football Women.  This was the first year we had a specific call for women to attend and they did not disappoint.  I discovered women team sports are relatively new in Turkey as they were previously frowned upon and women were not allowed to participate in sporting activities.  The women in attendance are truly pioneers in breaking down the walls in a cultural that made it difficult if not near impossible for women to play sports.

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Also, we had planned on having the men and women break apart for some drills and combine at the end.  We did not give any thought to the statement it would make to have men and women participating in drills together; however this would have been taboo in the past.  The amazing thing was that the men and women in attendance did not flinch when we had them perform drills together.  It was almost as if this was the norm in the Turkey culture.  After the fact we were told how this would have been unheard of until just recently.  I was really proud of all in attendance and the effort all gave.

Outside the camp it has been great to see my teammates from last season.  After the season breaks we tend to go in different directions until our pre-season starts.  AFWB gives us a great opportunity to bond outside the football field.

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Additionally, we get to meet great players from other teams and trade stories about our NFL experience.

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Thanks everyone for the opportunity to share my day today.

Mingo

 

 

 

 

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