Local military members train with Seahawks legend for a day

Published 5:30 pm Monday, August 4, 2025

RENTON — Shaun Alexander looked around at the people wearing bright neon t-shirts, kneeling in front of him on the Seattle Seahawks’ practice field at Virginia Mason Athletic Center on Monday. The 2005 NFL MVP and former Seahawks star running back was the special guest, but not for the Seahawks players gearing up during training camp.

The people kneeling around him were military members based in the Seattle area in attendance for the USAA’s Salute to Service NFL Boot Camp. The military and service members hold a special place in Alexander’s heart, and he discussed his own family ties.

“My brother was in the Army for 22 years. He was an E8 Sergeant First Class. He was like a hero to me,” Alexander said. “There’s five Alexander boys, he was the second-oldest. Went off to the Army at 17 years old, and so when I just see military, Coast Guard, Army, Navy, Marines, I’m always just like, ‘Man, what are your stories? Tell me about it.’ …

“Being able to come and encourage guys and tell them, ‘Man, thank you,’ and ‘We believe in you all, and all that you’re doing is wonderful,’ I’m always going to be a part of that.”

Wearing a 50th anniversary Seahawks letterman jacket, Alexander expressed his admiration and gratitude for the service members, and welcomed them into “his world” on the football field. Before the participants broke off into teams to rotate through five drills, Alexander had one last directive.

“Don’t no one pull anything,” Alexander said. “But go have fun.”

Among the participants was Mike Bordas, a First Class Yeoman in the Coast Guard at Port Security Unit 313 in Everett.

Bordas graduated from Cascade High School in 1994, and he was inspired by his father, Mike — a 38-year member of the Coast Guard who ascended to Senior Chief — to join the Coast Guard in 2014, the same year the Seahawks won the Super Bowl.

“I just remember the electricity and just the feel of this whole town,” Bordas said. “Everybody was in it. … Seeing everybody just get into it and just the feeling of — I can’t even explain it, it’s just one of the best feelings I’ve ever had being a Seahawks fan was when we won Super Bowl XLVIII.”

Bordas is currently a reservist, and he is a project manager at Boeing, where he has worked for 20 years. He participated in a similar boot camp back in 2019, and was happy for the opportunity to run it back on the same field that players from his lifelong favorite team work on every day.

“I feel like a 10-year-old,” Bordas said. “I feel like one of those kids that sees, like, their favorite athlete and I’m still like 10 and it’s like, ‘Oh, I want your autograph.’ It just means a lot, and I really appreciate that USAA did this for the ‘Coasties’ and just all military. It’s just fantastic.”

When Bordas thinks about Alexander’s heyday, he remembers him busting through tackles and scoring touchdowns. For others, it’s the MVP campaign and Super Bowl run in the 2005 season. One person even told Alexander that the first Madden game he ever played was the one with Alexander on the cover, Madden NFL 07.

“Wow, okay, I’m old,” Alexander replied.

But Alexander was not the only fan favorite to get involved. Prior to the boot camp activities, the participants got to watch a portion of Seahawks training camp, then lined up for autographs and handshakes with the players.

Afterwards, they were moved over to a separate field to warm up before the five drills, which were a 40-yard dash, a power ball toss, a receiving gauntlet, a quarterback “longest throw” challenge and a broad jump.

“I don’t expect to see too much on the 40, you know what I mean?” Alexander said, laughing. “I see some people that look athletic, I’m like, ‘You gotta be twitchy to make that thing look nice,’ and I don’t see that.”

A camera operator told Alexander that a participant had just run a 4.9 split.

“Did he? Okay, that’s not bad,” Alexander replied. “That’s not bad. That’s better than I thought.”

Ultimately, the winning time was run by Chris Mazzuckis with a 4.66. When the afternoon concluded with a gathering to announce the winners of each event, Mazzuckis walked up front to be recognized while holding an ice pack against his hamstring, evidently not following Alexander’s final order.

It was well worth it, as Mazzuckis was part of the winning team of participants, each of whom received two tickets for the Seahawks’ Salute to Service game against the Arizona Cardinals on Nov. 9.

Matthew Scriven, a machinery technician in the Coast Guard, was named camp MVP. He was part of a three-way tie for the longest throw at 49 yards and placed highly in the other events, earning a signed Michael Dickson jersey as the MVP prize.

Scriven, a Georgia native stationed at Coast Guard Base Seattle, originally planned to attend the boot camp to watch his boss, Master Chief Seth Burgin, but he was unable to attend after contracting COVID-19. After participating in his place, Scriven plans to give the signed merch to Burgin.

“Seeing the players up close and personal, it was the first experience for me,” Scriven said. “So I’m definitely going to cherish it for a long time. … This is an awesome experience, and if I can come to another one, I definitely will.”