Throughout the month of June, the Commanders' training facility experienced some weekend football action as the organization welcomed local youth coaches and teams for developmental clinics in Ashburn, Virginia.
"This is a very, very special moment for all of us to be here because this is the first time new ownership has opened its doors to the coaches around the DMV," Commanders broadcast crew member Bryan Colbert Jr. said to open the session on June 13. "You guys will get a chance to learn from NFL head coaches that do it at the highest level, but let's not forget: at high school, y'all are the foundation."
From the location where the clinics took place to the speakers brought in to the activities planned, the events provided an educational and inspiring environment for participants as they gear up for the 2026 high school football preseason.
Michael Nesmith has been the head coach at Paint Branch High School for 20 seasons. It perhaps would be easy to get complacent in his role, but Nesmith learned from his mentors, including his father, that "we're lifelong learners."
"With the game of football, you're just never going to have it all mastered, so you're just trying to get as close as possible," he said. "I try to continue my learning and never feel like I have all the answers because no one does."
That mindset allowed Nesmith to make the most of an enriching June 13 session focused on coaching development. The energy kicked off early during the half-day clinic as Commanders head coach Dan Quinn shared some coaching tidbits with the room and praised the group for "being great people for these guys that are playing."
"I really appreciated Coach Dan Quinn coming out and speaking to us briefly, just understanding how busy an NFL head coach is year-round," Nesmith said. "That was pretty awesome."
Quinn was followed by four-time All-Pro and current Commanders offensive assistant Wes Welker, who did a film breakdown and Q&A session.
"Just for a group of youth coaches, it was obvious he [Welker] put a tremendous amount of time and preparation into his presentation, so I really appreciated that and thought it was outstanding," Nesmith said.
After Welker's section, the participants decided whether to do a breakout group with offensive quality control coach Brian Stoldt or defensive quality control coach Luke Johnson.
Dunbar High School Coach Maurice Vaughn enjoyed what he described as "an informative" session with the Stoldt.
"Coach did a great job of talking about situational football, outside zone," Vaughn said. "I picked up a few nuggets. It was worth the time."
The focus of the session then turned specifically to player health and safety. Donald Davis of USA Football spent time during an on-field session going through the practice of safe tackling.
"Coach Davis does a great job, and I wanted to see what I could learn and take to my program to make sure that my kids are healthy and safe," Nesmith said.
The final event of the day was lunch and a networking session. Here, the coaches, who hailed from all parts of D.C., Maryland and Virginia, had a valuable opportunity to connect with each other.
"You just never know who you're going to meet and what it's going to lead to later…it helps with scrimmages, it helps with perhaps trading film on opponents," Nesmith said. "It's nice to be able to talk some serious ball with somebody who could maybe offer you some new ideas that you didn't think of."
"I really appreciated Coach Dan Quinn coming out and speaking to us briefly, just understanding how busy an NFL head coach is year-round," Nesmith said. "That was pretty awesome."
Quinn was followed by four-time All-Pro and current Commanders offensive assistant Wes Welker, who did a film breakdown and Q&A session.
"Just for a group of youth coaches, it was obvious he [Welker] put a tremendous amount of time and preparation into his presentation, so I really appreciated that and thought it was outstanding," Nesmith said.
After Welker's section, the participants decided whether to do a breakout group with offensive quality control coach Brian Stoldt or defensive quality control coach Luke Johnson.
Dunbar High School Coach Maurice Vaughn enjoyed what he described as "an informative" session with the Stoldt.
"Coach did a great job of talking about situational football, outside zone," Vaughn said. "I picked up a few nuggets. It was worth the time."
The focus of the session then turned specifically to player health and safety. Donald Davis of USA Football spent time during an on-field session going through the practice of safe tackling.
"Coach Davis does a great job, and I wanted to see what I could learn and take to my program to make sure that my kids are healthy and safe," Nesmith said.
The final event of the day was lunch and a networking session. Here, the coaches, who hailed from all parts of D.C., Maryland and Virginia, had a valuable opportunity to connect with each other.
"You just never know who you're going to meet and what it's going to lead to later…it helps with scrimmages, it helps with perhaps trading film on opponents," Nesmith said. "It's nice to be able to talk some serious ball with somebody who could maybe offer you some new ideas that you didn't think of."
The following weekend both Nesmith and Vaughn came back to BigBear.ai Performance Center. This time, they brought several of their players with them. On Saturday, June 20, Washington hosted a clinic highlighted by a Fastest Man competition, a sevenon-on-seven tournament and a Big Man Challenge.
"A lot of my kids don't get outside of the inner city that often, so it was a great experience," Vaughn said. "Being able to compete on the same field that the Commanders practice on, that was huge. It was an honor to be out there, and the kids had fun."
Competing this time of year, with the first high school games just around the corner, is valuable. Nesmith appreciated the passing game, passing coverage, timing and spacing things his guys could work on during the 7v7 tournament.
"An organized opportunity like this is an opportunity for us to get more reps. We bring a camera all the time and film it so we can teach off of it. So, it's extremely valuable in that way," the Paint Branch coach said.
In addition to the competition experience gained, these players were gifted high-quality seven-on-seven helmets.
"We're going to use those for the rest of the summer. Such an awesome, thoughtful and useful gift," Nesmith said. "That's another big worry of mine during seven-on-seven is these collisions, and those helmets they gave are of great quality."
Linemen from the participating programs also felt the love and got a chance to get better on the day. Sometimes this unit can be overlooked, Nesmith acknowledged, so it's always exciting when a Big Man Challenge is featured.
"They see their brothers go out for seven-on-seven all over the state, and they stay home jealous," Nesmith said with a laugh. "Washington provided individual coaches who were drilling them on high-level techniques for an hour before they started the [Big Man] competition, so that was extremely valuable."
Whether it was coaching, competition or celebration, the clinics aimed to show the Commanders are here to support high school football programming in a holistic way. These coaches and kids represent the future, and Washington is here to be a resource for support and inspiration.
"We just love our kids being involved and that they have something to inspire them and let them know that anything is possible if they work hard and keep the focus," Vaughn said.
