Meet Aaron Campbell of Respect & Honor Academy

Today we’d like to introduce you to Aaron Campbell.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Aaron. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I played sports virtually my entire life and fell in love with the sport of football at a very young age. Like most young athletes, I dreamt of playing professionally, however, when that dream was no longer possible I was faced with a hard reality. I was unsure of what my next steps would be; it was then that I realized the dilemma that I was in and how countless other athletes were faced with this same dilemma as well. I realized that I had spent very little time developing myself outside of sports and therefore was virtually lost once my football playing days were over. Drawing from my early inspirations, I knew that I wanted to better serve my community; seeing my situation was not uncommon amongst most athletes, the idea for RH Academy was born.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The journey has not been an easy one, many sacrifices have been made along the way. Plenty of times, I have questioned if it were possible to see my dream all the way through, whenever I have moments of doubt, I just remember my reasoning for starting and that gets me through. From almost going broke trying to finance my dream to being doubted, laughed at, and ridiculed, I stayed the course. One brief story, when I first started my journey I knew very little about coaching the Quarterback Position. I had played it virtually my entire life but from a coaching standpoint, I was very new. I did what most people starting out do and went to youtube to learn from other professionals in the field. I came across two individuals: Quincy Avery and Jordan Palmer. I was blown away by both of them, their ability to break down the position, explain movements, and connect with athletes; their stories were amazing as well. I decided then (2017) that I would work with them; fast forward two years later I get in contact with Jordan Palmer and asked if I could attend his QB Summit Camp. He told me yes, the only problem was by the time he responded, I had very little time to book my flight and hotel.

Flying from the east coast to the west coast can be expensive especially when you book it last minute. I washed cars and fundraised to get the money for the flight, the only problem was I did not have enough for a hotel but that didn’t stop me. I flew out to California to meet with Jordan and coach in his camp; the camp lasted five days we were on the field from about 8 am to the evening time, afterward, we watched a film and as everyone else went home, I went to the beach in Dana Point and slept in my car. At 5 am the next day, I would wake up and bathe in the ocean and then proceed to eat breakfast and go back to the field. No one knew I was doing this with the exception of one other trainer who I became good friends with named Blake who was from Wisconsin. No excuses, no shame or pity, I was just grateful for the opportunity and was willing to do whatever it took to maximize the opportunity. Fast-forward a year later, I was flown back out to California to collab on a project with Jordan Palmer called Summit Digital, it’s amazing to see how things come full circle.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Respect & Honor Academy – what should we know?
Respect & Honor Academy is a premier training company in the DC, MD, and VA metropolitan area that focuses on developing student-athletes both on the field and off. Outside of athletic training, we provide character development courses which include but are not limited to financial literacy, small business development, homeownership, and credit recovery. We place a strong emphasis on making sure our program participants are well-rounded individuals. Our curriculum was decided on based on surveys taken within our communities where we pinpointed key areas of concern that community residents felt were not being addressed through traditional educational platforms. As a training company that primarily specializes in football-specific training, we coach every position, my specialty is training the quarterback position. While on this journey, I have been blessed to not only work with some of the top high school and collegiate student-athletes in the DMV area. I’ve been blessed to travel the country and work alongside some of the top Quarterback Trainers and athletes including Quincy Avery, Jordan Palmer, Sam Darnold (NY Jets), and Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills) to name a few.

I am proud to say that when we first started back in 2017 we had five kids in our program, in a little over three years we have serviced close to 1,000 student-athletes throughout the DC, MD, and VA area. We have been able to send numerous kids off to college and remain in contact with them to this day. We also launched one of the biggest combine camps to take place in the DMV area known as “The Premier”, which featured not only recruiting platforms such as rivals.com and 247Sports but also college coaches as well. Ten kids walked away with scholarship opportunities at our very first camp! We also recently completed our very first sweepstakes where we gifted away 10 Chromebook laptops to assist students with virtual learning during this COVID-19 Pandemic. Students were required to submit a 1-3 min video or one-paged essay explaining their career and academic goals.

What sets us apart is our commitment to seeing the betterment of students outside of sports, many people/organizations say that that is their goal however very little planning or execution is done to see that mission through. We pride ourselves in not only providing opportunities for exposure such as college tours and camps but also providing education to kids that otherwise may not receive had it not been for our program.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My team is amazing, I can in no way take full credit for what we have been able to accomplish. Lavaughn Hughes who serves as our Vice President, as well as Jabari Thomas and Joseph Ukwu, have all played integral roles in the execution of our day-to-day activities. Quincy Avery and Jordan Palmer have also played huge roles in my success as well, not only have they been an open book in regards to showing me the ropes, they have also served as inspiration proving that with the right amount of consistency and focus, I can reach the highest of heights. Lastly, my parents play the biggest role. They laid the foundation for my beliefs, values, and principles, without them I would not be where I am at today.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.therhacademy.org
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @rhacademy_ and @CoachAaronRHA
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/rhacademy1
• Twitter: @rhacademy_ and @CoachAaronRHA

Image Credit:
LoveliCaptures, B.prolificc

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