It’s been a competitive summer thus far for head coach Brad McCoy and the Charles Henderson football team and McCoy wouldn’t have it any other way.

In Auburn two weeks ago, the Trojans took part in a 7-on-7 tournament and walked away with a win. Last week, in their own tournament along with nearly 20 other teams, the Trojans made it to the second round of the tournament after picking up two wins in pool play as well as one in the first round of the tournament.

“I saw improvement,” McCoy said. “I was proud of my skill guys that got a ton of reps.”

The competition is just getting underway for the Trojans.

In a few weeks, the Trojans will be among the nation’s best at the 7-on-7 National Championships in Hoover.

“It’s in the second week of July,” McCoy said. “We are going to compete against really the best teams, not just in the southeast, but in the country. They pull from Pennsylvania, Ohio and Texas. I am excited about the level of competition that our guys are going to see. We are going to compete hard and see where we stack up against some of the best.”

To become the best, McCoy believes Charles Henderson will have to compete against the best this summer.

“You only get better by playing quality people,” McCoy said. “It’s nothing against the teams that aren’t as talented, but you need to see fast, you need to see athletic and you need to see big. That is what you’re going to have to face to win big ball games.”

The 7-on-7 tournament offers a unique opportunity for the skill position players to learn.

“I like it because of the coverage situations,” McCoy said. “It’s really hard on a defense because there isn’t a pass rush. Quarterbacks have four seconds to throw it so It’s really hard on a defense. It’s good because they have to learn how to run and cover. We like to work and we are going to put our kids in those situations.”

Charles Henderson will have an offseason OTA on July 23 that is being hosted by Troy University.