Looking for a football summer camp for your teenager or child? Do you want your high-schooler to improve his skill set or are you just trying to introduce your child to the sport of football? Sports Championship Management Group’s week-long summer day camp at Oglethorpe University is one local camp that is creating a buzz in the Atlanta area. To find out more about what SCM Group is offering, I caught up with founder and CEO Christopher White to discuss his youth camp as well as his high school session.
YOUTH CAMP
SCM Group’s youth camp will accommodate campers between the ages of 7 and 13, and takes place from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. July 6-10. Though it is a football camp, according to White, campers will learn about much more than the fundamentals of the game.
“A big part of our camp is teaching life skills and valuable lessons that kids can take away from football and use in their everyday lives whether at home or in school,” said White. “Football will be only a third of the overall program at our camps. We will also have motivational speakers and surprise special guests stopping by every day. We’ll have a dedicated film and/or speaker for each age-appropriate life-skill lesson being taught.”
Campers of all experience levels are welcome to come out, as they will be evaluated on the first day and placed into skill-level groups that best meet their needs. “We’ll have two coaches per 10 kids, so our staff-to-camper ratio is really one of the best in the country,” White said. And the coaches? “Many of our coaches are former NFL players such as Chris Calloway, Dewey McClain, Keith Ponder and Erik McMillan, and high school and college coaches.” McClain and Calloway are former Falcons and McMillan is a former NFL Rookie of the Year.
After being divided into groups based on experience level on the first day, campers will jump right into their daily activities. “We’ll put them through stretching and warm-ups, and after that we’ll split up into individual groups with their coaches and concentrate on position-specific drills to improve their skills,” White said. “Coaches will also talk for 15 minutes each day about being a leader on and off the field, giving your best and sportsmanship. After lunch we’ll have a 30-minute life-skill lesson. Every day will wrap with a guest/motivational speaker. Parents are encouraged to attend these sessions.”
HIGH SCHOOL CAMP
The high school camp takes place June 15-19 and is for all campers age 14-18. “The high school camp will be a little more involved as far as skill-specific training,” White said. “We will dedicate two days out of the week for combine training and testing and provide a detailed training plan the campers can take with them to improve their training.”
For the older campers, life-skill lessons are updated to be more age appropriate. Topics may include how to balance school and work, being an athlete in college, alcohol, drugs, job interviews, and many more. Preparation for college is also covered during the week. “On the first day of camp there will be a national recruiter coming to talk to the campers and their parents about getting ready for the whole college scouting process,” White said.
White stressed that, besides having a good time, the number one issue for SCM Group’s football camp was the safety of the kids. Parents must provide a list of authorized people to pick up the campers and show proper ID. Police officers will be on hand at Oglethorpe to participate in some of the life-skill lessons. Safety on the field is an important issue as well. According to White, every precaution has been taken in regards to on-field activities. “In the event someone gets hurt, someone will be there immediately to tend to their injuries,” he said.
After each week-long session there will be an award ceremony which parents are highly encouraged to attend. Campers will receive a certificate and a camp picture. Awards will be presented for top camper and most improved camper, as well as a best attitude award. Food and drinks will be provided and an autograph and picture session will follow. “My goal is that each camper will come away with a smile and will have learned valuable skills and lessons for on and off of the football field,” White said.
Cost of the camp is $375 for both the youth and high school camps, and scholarships are available for those who qualify. For more information, visit www.scmgroup-inc.com.
Edwards can be reached at jedwards@scoreatl.com.
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