Sports agent Todd France has been named one of the top 10 most powerful NFL agents. He was named to the 40-under-40 rising stars in sports business by the Sports Business Journal in 2006. He represents more than 70 pro athletes.
But from June 24 to June 27, France’s Five-Star Athlete Management agency is partnering with New Era for the second straight year to conduct the New Era All-Star Football Camp, a free camp for kids aged 8-17. More than 50 NFL current and former NFL players, all Five-Star clients, will be working with the campers.
“The camp is similar to what it’s been in years past,” said France. “Even bigger names, more names, more NFL players and the bigger the camp has gotten over the years, the more attendees we’ve had.”
CHARACTER COUNTS …
For the 10th consecutive year, the Alabama graduate used some of his valuable time to organize the camp and recruit his multi-million athletes to take part in it for nothing.
For the Buckhead resident, his agency requires a certain type of person before he will pursue representation. Signing players who will volunteer for something like the camp is important to France.
“You always want to represent not just great players, but great people,” said France. “In this business, to be successful, you’ve got to put in 24/7 to represent these players. If you’re going to be doing that, you want to represent players that are going to be great people too, not just great players. I feel very comfortable saying our guys are great guys. We get great feedback from the parents, from the kids.”
New Era is again the title sponsor after a successful partnership with Five-Star on the camp last year.
“We work with a couple athletes that Todd represents, such as Eric Decker and Marcel Dareus,” said New Era representative Braden Dahl. “That relationship has been beneficial for both parties.
“We had the opportunity to work together on a camp and we were looking for a new partner, so we put together a deal and created the New Era All-Star Camp.”
While the business side of the deal may be beneficial to both companies, neither is in this for the money. The idea of giving back to the community and helping kids is the main reason for the camp.
“We’re not doing it for anything else but to give the kids a great experience,” said Dahl. “However, we are primarily a baseball brand, so it’s important to get in front of the kids from a brand perspective and let them know we’re committed to football and promoting football experiences for kids of all ages.”
New Era will be giving a gift bag to each of the campers, while Papa Johns will provide lunch each day and Gatorade will be charged with keep the youngsters hydrated. Other sponsors of the camp are: 790 The Zone, Hennessy Transportation, Game Changer Nation, CSS, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Posh Real Estate, and Wells Fargo.
GRACIOUS HOSTS …
The camp will again take place at Mount Vernon Presbyterian School in Sandy Springs and will feature both current and former NFL stars like Demaryius Thomas, Vernon Davis, Ray Rice, Harry Douglas, Takeo Spikes and Lomas Brown. Also, two rookie first-rounders will be in attendance as new Five-Star clients Jonathan Cooper (Arizona Cardinals) and Sylvester Williams (Denver Broncos) will be helping to conduct drills and working with the campers. A total of at least 50 NFL players will help out over the four-day period.
Game Changer Nation, a company that trains athletes and NFL players, will be working with the kids on fundamentals along with the NFL stars.
“(The campers) will be put through combine drills, they’ll be timed in the 40, they’re going to put them through their own combine,” said France. “It’s going to be very interactive with the kids, for sure.”
France’s company also represents recent draft picks like D.J. Swearinger (Houston, second round), Leon McFadden, (Cleveland, third round), Brennan Williams (Houston, third round) and Ryan Nassib (New York Giants, fourth round)
Mount Vernon has hosted the camp since 2010. The campers are welcomed warmly by the school personnel and France is pleased with the facilities there.
“(Mount Vernon) couldn’t be anymore helpful and supportive,” said France. “The facility is second-to-none. The fieldturf is gorgeous. They’ve got a brand-new athletic building (as well). It’s really awesome, in terms of the equipment we get to use.”
Prospective campers can register at New Era’s website at www.newreracap.com/camprsvp.aspx or on Five Star’s Facebook page.
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