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Pacific SportsBlogOkinawa-based sports reporter Dave Ornauer on military-related sports in the Far East. |
Football camp in the Pacific?
Posted November 18th, 2007 by Dave OrnauerThey need here something similiar to what Europe is planning to do in June, a football camp for high schoolers conducted by stateside coaches.
Discussion was held last spring about possibly staging a football camp in August for Pacific footballers, but that may not happen in the near future. It can't come soon enough, in my eyes.
What do you think? Should the football guys do something equal to what Europe will do in June, and should they flood university campuses from sea to shining sea with letters pleading for coaches to come run the thing?
as a player i'd love to here
as a player i'd love to hear what a college coach thinks, give us different views and prospects (not saying our coaches aren't great)
camps
One thing that a college coach provides is a contact. If your player is deserving of a scholarship, the coach can recommend the level he can play at and serve to be a contact point for the player. It is important that players go back to the USA and attend a college camp of their choice or a major combine. This is one way that college coaches can compare our kids with the stateside kids. If they are a top prospect, this should be done the summer before their Junior year. Contacts can be made at this time and the player will be on the radar. Assuming that the player is on the recruiting list, it would be advisable to follow that up with a return visit the summer before their senior year. Malcolm Lane (Hanau) got coaches' attention when he ran a 4.45 40 in a Miami combine and received a scholarship to the University of Hawaii following an excellent senior year.
A camp like Dave suggest is a good way to get some exposure.
By the way, you have excellent coaches in the Pacific.
Camps
Are you stationed overseas? Do you get to see these kids first hand?
Camps are a Must!
I know when I was on Okinawa we never had a football camp. You just showed up for practice on day one. Camps today give athletes an opportunity to improve without fighting for a position or worried about doing something wrong. They can learn and grow as a player.
The college camps I attend for high school kids today are technically advanced and the atmosphere is incredible.
These players deserve an opportunity to experience the best this sport has to offer. Bring On The Camps!
Don't Just Stand There...Do Something!
Camps are definitely a must if you want your athletes and programs to grow accordingly. These camps do not just happen because someone wishes them so; they require a great deal of hard work and effort to see the light of day. So many people complain about how DoDDs should shoulder the weight of additional programs financially but most discussions end with "well, I guess that's all we can do."
The fact of the matter is that if people want extra things to happen so their kids can experience success, it rests on the supporters of the program; coaches, parents, students, etc. If you want to bring a coach from the states, then you had better start planning now. Many of them probably won't be ready to discuss the possibilities just yet but they will in a month or so. Here is what I suggest as a plan of action for those of you out there who are really serious (those who know who I am, know that we did this for volleyball so it can work):
1) Start working contacts with the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) or other coaching contacts in the states. They don't have to be from Division I universities. If you're a coach and are not a member of your prominent coaches organization, then you need to start by joining one, networking is the key to everything.
2) Decide a timeline...many football coaches are understandibly busy in late August...start working available dates...there is a reason why Europe does theirs in June. I would suggest following their model.
3) Work on the geographic logistics. My suggestion would be to have a few coaches travel to three camps at the main locations around the Pacific...Yokota, Japan; Seoul or Osan in South Korea; and Okinawa, Japan.
4) Start working on costs...you should definitely charge the students for this service. You must charge something or people simply won't take you seriously. If it's free, people will not readily commit. This is a service and should be paid for accordingly. Similar camps in the states can cost upwards of $300-$500 not including travel expenses.
5) Be sure to budget for plane tickets for the coaches, hotels, per diem, etc. Many will be willing to do the camps if you simply cover all of their expenses. You are offering them a unique travel opportunity after all.
In order for all of this to work coaches around the Pacific must work together to make it happen. We were able to do this in volleyball because we dropped our egos and knew that if we made everyone's kids better, our programs would improve, thereby making us more competitve; everyone wins.
Now pull yourself away from the computer screen and start making it happen. As Yoda says, "there is no try, only do"
as a former player
as a former player in dodds korea i def. say we should since there are so many talents here that have easily could have made it to the next level if they had been scouted