Valencia County 7v7 camp gives linemen their time to shine

Valencia County’s summer football scene usually sells the passing game, but the most telling work in Tomé came from the big bodies. At Valencia’s June 25 7v7 camp, linemen were not parked on the edge of the action, they got their own drills, their own competition, and their own coaching attention in a setting that included nine schools and a full countywide mix of players.

Linemen got a lane of their own

LeDarrius Cage directed the camp for a third year, and his approach was clear from where the players were placed. Skill players moved through the main stadium and the soccer fields, while linemen worked on the football practice field and in the nearby weight room, a setup that kept the trenches busy instead of treating them as an afterthought.

That matters in a county where Friday nights are often won by the team that can protect the quarterback, hold a block on the edge, and finish plays through contact. Cage has said he values offseason work for linemen because they usually have to wait until August to really get going, when pads come on and the physical part of football can fully ramp up. This camp gave those players an earlier start.

The drills were built for the trench game

The linemen’s schedule was not filler. Their work included bench press, shuttle races, farm carry, sled pulls, and one-on-one blocking work without pads. That mix pushed the same traits coaches ask for in the fall: upper-body strength, quick feet, balance, leverage, and the ability to stay square against an opponent.

The competition also gave players a chance to test themselves against unfamiliar opponents. The relay-style events and sled pulls turned into small battles, and the blocking periods forced linemen to make their movements count without the cushion of shoulder pads. Players came away seeing how their own unit matched up against other strong teams, which is exactly the kind of summer stress test that can expose weaknesses before the season starts.

Cage’s goal is not just bigger lifts or faster times. He wants linemen to develop toughness and aggression, and the camp structure reflected that. The message to the group was simple: line play is not something to address later. It is part of the summer work now.

Nine schools made it a countywide football day

The camp drew nine schools, including Valencia High School, Los Lunas High School, and Belen High School, with the Eagles bringing only a junior varsity group. That detail matters because it shows how the event reaches beyond a single program and functions as a regional summer gathering for players across Valencia County and nearby schools.

That broader footprint has been part of Valencia’s 7v7 tradition for a while. A previous Valencia-hosted tournament brought together nearly 20 varsity and junior varsity teams, and earlier coverage of the camp showed Valencia, Los Lunas, and Belen on the field in nearly 100-degree heat, playing without helmets and pads. The format keeps teams moving, competing, and rep after rep, even as the summer temperatures climb.

For local programs, that kind of repetition has value beyond the score of any single matchup. It creates a shared rhythm in a county where schools often see each other often enough during the summer that the competition becomes part of the football calendar itself. The camp is no longer just a workout date. It is a recurring stop in the buildup to fall.

Why the camp fits Cage’s larger program-building job

The timing also fits where Valencia football is under Cage. He arrived as the head coach who replaced Wesley Shank and was set for his debut season in 2023, which means this third year directing the camp says something about how the program is taking shape under his watch. A summer event that returns year after year is not just a drill session, it is part of the structure a coach uses to build continuity.

That continuity matters in a county where coaching changes and roster turnover can slow development if programs do not create regular points of connection. A camp that puts linemen in the weight room, gets them into sled work, and keeps them competing against other schools does more than fill a summer afternoon. It gives players a place to learn the system, sharpen their bodies, and stay connected before the season begins in earnest.

Valencia’s season is set to kick off Aug. 18, and by then the advantage from a camp like this will not show up on a scoreboard or a stat sheet. It will show up in the first tough snap, the first sustained drive, and the first time a line holds together long enough for the rest of the offense to work.