MILLEDGEVILLE — With legs pumping and fists flying under a brutal July sun, area football players with aspirations of pushing themselves to the very limits participated in an agilities and fundamentals training camp Tuesday morning at GMC.

The clinic is none other than the brainchild of OTC’s Tim Thomas, who received advice from brother Ken Thomas (a former University of Illinois running back), and Steven Franklin, who is quickly gaining regional attention for his kinetic tutoring of NFL players such as Devin Hester, Ron Dayne, Kenny and David Irons (Auburn) and many others.

One familiar face at Tuesday morning’s session was GMC Prep head football coach Brad Owens, who sported his signature straw cap as the beads of sweat formed on his brow. Owens has 40 of his players at this week’s clinic and said it instills a lot of discipline and a drive to work harder.

“I’m extremely happy to have them out here. Will Mosley, our quarterback’s father, paid for Mr. Thomas to come out here and work with our kids out of his pocket. It’s a deal he did for us. We really appreciate that,” said Owens. “I think it’s great for them to use some techniques and refine and reinforce some of the things that we are doing already in practice. We do a lot of the same exercises, and to have an expert to come in and do it makes my job a lot easier.”

Owens also stated that it didn’t take much prodding to get his boys out to the camp — and with great enthusiasm. GMC Prep has also completely rebuilt its upper practice field to the tune of $28,000 according to Owens.

“They want to get better and we want to keep giving them the opportunities,” he said. “We want to give them all the tools they need.”

Tim Thomas and his assistants are holding the OTC Sports Development Clinic (Speed, Agility and Quickness Camp) on GMC Prep/JC’s lower practice/drill fields off of Elbert Street for only two days. The clinic is running from 9 a.m. until around noon Tuesday and Thursday.

During the course of the summer, Thomas said he has been training players from all three local schools; John Milledge Academy, GMC Prep and Baldwin, and had praise for all the players he has worked with. He is also planning an additional camp in August and hopes that more players attend.

“I just put the camp together myself. My brother Ken Thomas and coach Franklin also helped me. They are really knowledgeable in kinetics,” said Thomas. “Baldwin County is loaded with talented athletes, and we are just looking to add those extra components to make them complete. We want to then expose them. Once they get the exposure they’ll make a showing on the playing field.”

Collegiate assistants Marcus Robinson (Ft. Valley State) and Teisha Griswold (Seminole State) have also been helping out at the camp this week, both assisting each athlete as they punished their way through a myriad of painful drills.

“It’s just a two-day program, and Mr. Mosley sponsored it. We focus on speed, agility and quickness. We want these guys to run 100 percent for four quarters straight. We push them harder and harder as the day goes on,” said Thomas. “In the third quarter their bodies want to shut down. So, we want to teach them and push them beyond that threshold. Wanting to quit is just natural. We work the nervous system and the muscles so they can overcome that. We fine-tune the athlete and make them complete.”

Griswold is a familiar name, after a star-studded career as a Baldwin Bravette basketball player. Griswold was Baldwin’s top player during their Final Four run two years ago and was also named one of the top 50 NJCAA players in the nation in 2010 while at Seminole State College, where she averaged 15 points per game.

“She started with me in the eighth grade, and look at what she’s doing now,” said Thomas with a smile.

Griswold was thrilled to be back in Milledgeville during her summer break and was more than happy to help out with the same OTC philosophies that helped mold her into a champion.

“When I was coming up here training it helped me out a lot. I wanted to come back and help them so they could get faster,” said Griswold.

After fine-tuning the legs and speed of top NFL players, Franklin said Tuesday morning that Middle Georgia was the place to be for him, and his soon-to-be instituted Middle Georgia Speed in Sports, which will train in Macon. The promotional “free pass” flyer offers “Speed & Agility Training for All.”

“Middle Georgia is possibly where I’ll be doing my combine workouts next season coming up. We will be working in the Macon Knights indoor facility space,” he said.

Franklin has enjoyed helping out local athletes for the OTC clinic, and said that his main specialty is teaching the art of speed, and how to obtain it.

“The clinic is giving the guys the fundamentals of sports itself. It is also improving discipline, but most importantly, improving speed,” said Franklin. “Speed is important in every sport. If you have speed you will get respect. I can teach these guys to run faster in 10 minutes. If you run faster, you can get away from people.”

Another familiar face at the clinic was former Baldwin High football standout Brandon Thomas, who now attends Georgia Southern. Thomas is the son of Tim Thomas and the brother of Baldwin High starting quarterback DeAndre Thomas.

Thomas, having been exposed to his father’s fundamental teachings since the age of 8 was on hand to demonstrate the correct form in some of the stepping, pivoting and obstacle leaping drills that are being featured at the clinic.

“It means a lot to come out here and help somebody else and see them get better,” said Brandon Thomas. “We are improving their skills and helping them get up to par with the other guys so they can go far.”

For more information on Middle Georgia Speed and Sport, call Steven Franklin at (310) 266-5970.

For OTC private sessions, which will be carried on throughout the year, call Tim Thomas at (478) 452-8903.