Right now everyone here at O-D is busy fine-tuning the nuts and bolts of the upcoming All-American Bowl Week. That being said, we've also spent some time with our coaches going over the 2012 Camps and how we can improve and progress on our already top-notch camp experience. The new stuff you can expect to see at camp in 2013 include:
- Expanded video instruction: Our on-field video review kicked off with a bang in 2012 and it will return for 2013 in an expanded role. Better angles, more analysis...you name it, we're improving it!
- One dedicated position per player: Past years we've had our athletes select an offensive and defensive position to receive split instruction at during camp. In 2013, our campers will be selecting a single position to receive exclusive training in. The benefits of this change are multifaceted - athletes will enjoy better matchups at camp, we'll be able to hire more positionally-focused coaches, and in an increasingly specialized game, athletes will be getting TWICE as much instruction at their best position.
- Better and more focused evaluations: Our end-of-camp evaluations have always been important instructional tools for our campers. Now, they're growing into something even better - Youth athletes will be getting evaluations better-geared for their age group, telling them what they specifically need to improve as they begin entering the high school tier of play and high school-aged players will receive awesome tips and pointers to specifically prepare them for the collegiate game.
- Limited spots at camp: That's right! Much like how the limited slots available for our Bowl Game increases quality of play and coaching, so too does limited space work at our camps. Better scrimmages, practice matchups, player-to-coach ratios, end-of-camp bowl games...the fact is, the quality of the camp takes a huge leap when we enforce limits on camp size. Another bonus? This element makes it way easier for our coaches to analyze and scout athletes for possible All-American Bowl inclusion. Win-win!
The road to being an All-American
Football Academy (footballacademy.com) - O-D has approximately 30 Football Academy events scheduled throughout the winter and spring all across the country! The Academy is a 3-day non-contact camp for athletes in grades 6 through 12, split into two divisions (6th-8th grade, 9th-12th). Athletes will participates in combines, 7-on-7s film review, and both on-and-off the field instruction designed to improve athletes ability to impress and test well in combine-style events. This event also increases player visibility for All-American Bowl consideration.
Summer Camp (o-d.com) - Now halfway through its 5th decade of operation, the O-D Summer Camps are the backbone and bread-and-butter of the Offense-Defense experience! With 4-day, full-contact camps in almost 40 locations nationwide, the Summer Camp offers the most complete football training experience in the world! We guarantee improvement at our Summer Camps and will select players directly for All-American Bowl inclusion. Players our coaches are undecided on will be asked to come to our Elite Camp for more training and a longer look.
Elite Camp (elite.o-d.com) - Similar in structure to our Football Academy, the Elite Camp accepts players from a wider age range (1st grade through 12th) and runs in the summer immediately following our Summer Camps. The Elite Camps are the final chance both for athletes to step up their game both before their own season starts and to be seen and selected for the O-D All-American Bowl!
O-D All-American Bowl (bowl.o-d.com) - The crown jewel of many a camper's experience with Offense-Defense, the All-American Bowl is a celebration of everything football! This year being held in the home of the NFL's Houston Texans, Reliant Stadium, Bowl Week will include events like the Youth All-American Bowl games, the High School Showcase, the O-D National Tournament, the first and biggest youth football convention in the world (O-DCon), the inaugural Can/Am games, pitting the best of Canadian youth football against the All-Stars from America, and of course the O-D All-American Bowl itself which features the very best high school seniors in the country in their last hurrah before their starring roles at Division I colleges in all the biggest conferences in the country. It simply doesn't get better than this!
Don't miss out! Don't let your friends and teammates miss out! The O-D Progression is a unique and amazing experience that benefits athletes and parents alike and we want everyone to be a part of it. We can't wait to see you on the field!
