RIVIERA BEACH – A change of scenery has been doing wonders for Silas Hinson.
Coming off a stellar junior season and spring football circuit, Hinson spoke on his transfer move from Santaluces to Inlet Grove, which occurred sometime after the spring.
“It was an all-around better opportunity for my academic success and sports,” Hinson said. “What attracted me was the coaching staff at Inlet Grove. I feel as if we have the best coaching staff in the county, and they will help me get my name out to college coaches.”
Hinson touched on the level of impact that new Inlet Grove head coach Alphonso Smith has already had on him.
“Coach Smith isn’t just a coach,” Hinson said. “He cares about your mental and physical health before anything…As a coach, he pushes us to be great. Even if we did something successful, he tells us how to improve and to never be satisfied. He gives us advice on what coaches like because he’s been in our shoes and did what we are trying to accomplish.”
The incoming senior wide receiver recently gained his first college offer from Keiser.
“I picked up Keiser after attending their camp,” Hinson said. “At the moment that’s my only offer. They always check up on me and tell me wha I can do to improve my skills at wide receiver.”
With a confidence-inspiring summer experience, the 6-foot, 170-pound wideout is looking to take his game to another level.
“This summer my attention has been fully on going to college camps and building chemistry with my teammates,” Hinson said. “I went to college camps (Florida State, USF, FAU, and FIU) with Emory Payne (Elite ATF Founder) and also went to the LSU and Louisiana Tech camps.”
Hinson’s dedication to his craft went beyond the camps and the 7-on-7 tournaments he attended this summer.
“Right now I’m focused on putting on muscle,” Hinson said. “At 170 pounds, I’m just trying to put 20 pounds on before I go to college. To help me with that, I have done two-a-days. I would work out at 5 a.m. at YouFit, then go to practice later. I would go to the beach for the second session. Some drills that have helped me are mobility drills and ply metrics. It’s mostly stretching, which relieves stress and allows the muscles to grow.”
Speaking of relief, the final day of Inlet Grove’s summer experience was its inaugural Beach Day Cookout, which occurred on Saturday, July 31.
Hinson spoke on this team-building moment.
“The beach day was amazing we bonding on a different level,” Hinson said. “We swam and had a cookout with a lot of food. Our cheerleaders also came. Coach Smith punished us for running on the beach, so we had to bear crawl all up and down the beach. Overall, it was an amazing time.”
Shifting gears now, Inlet Grove’s fall training camp experience will begin today (Aug. 2) and last through Wednesday, Aug. 18. On the next day (Aug. 19), Hinson will return to his old stomping grounds, when his Inlet Grove team will face off against Santaluces on the road.
Hinson envisions the kickoff classic as the prelude to a great fall football season ahead at Inlet Grove.
“You can look forward to Inlet Grove going undefeated and hopefully making it to states,” Hinson said.
“We have the weapons to do it, so it’s all up to us,” Hinson continued. “Also I will be the top overall player in the county with the stats I will put up both on offense and defense.”
