Atlanta will host a new high school All-Star football game on Dec. 28, 2013, when the Georgia Elite Junior Classic kicks off at McEachern High School Stadium at 1 p.m. The game, featuring 70 of the top high school junior prospects in the state, will be televised live regionally and broadcast locally on radio. Media partners will be announced in August.
The head coaches for the inaugural Elite Junior Classic will be Walton?s Rocky Hildalgo and Berrien’s Ed Pilcher, who won five state football championships as the head coach at Thomas County Central. Each team will have five assistants and an administrative assistant, and the coaching staffs will include North Gwinnett’s Bob Sphire, Corey Jarvis of Mays, Lamar County’s Franklin Stephens, Brookwood’s Mark Crews, Centennial’s Jeff Carlberg, Valdosta’s Rance Gillespie, Walton’s Tripp Allen, Lowndes’s Christian Hunnicutt, Northside Warner Robins’s Kevin Kinsler, St. Pius X’s Paul Standard and Ware County’s Ed Dudley.
Selection to the game will go well beyond the athlete’s exceptional performance on the field. Candidates will have to meet a certain academic requirement as well as demonstrate integrity and respect in the classroom, community and at home. A selection committee of coaches, high school administrators and recruiting experts has been chosen to begin the process of picking these elite players immediately. Invitations will be sent out in early July and rosters will be announced in August.
The players, coaches and their families will be housed at the Marietta Conference Center and the two All-Star teams will work out at McEachern High School’s state-of-the-art facilities. The coaching staffs will each consist of a head coach, five assistants and an administrative assistant. The players will check into the Marietta Conference Center on the morning of Dec. 26 and will practice as a team for the first time that day. The importance of being a strong community ambassador for their hometowns, teams and schools will be stressed as players learn first-hand by participating in a community event that evening. The team will work out twice on Dec. 27, with a two-hour combine for high school and middle school players being hosted between the practices. That evening will culminate with a banquet where these players will be recognized for their outstanding reputation both on and off the field as we celebrate together their impressive high school careers thus far.
The 1 p.m. game on Dec. 28 will be televised live and is expected to draw a large number of college coaches, media and recruiting experts as Georgia has become one of the nation?s top hotbeds for recruiting. The game will be supported by a full-service website at EliteJuniorClassic.com, on Twitter @EliteJrClassic and on Facebook.
The Dec. 27 combine will be held at McEachern High School from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will feature all of the coaches and players participating in the Classic. Athletes will be able to sign up for the combine beginning in August on the website.
The principals and organizers of the Elite Junior Classic are Dave Hunter (Hunter Athletic Consulting), I.J. Rosenberg (Score Atlanta) and Jim Dorsey (McEachern High School) among other strategic partners in television production, marketing and sponsorship acquisition.
For more information, go to EliteJuniorClassic.com or contact Melanie Snare at Score Atlanta at 404-256-1572 or at msnare@ScoreATL.com.
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