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2010 News

• Redskins General Manager Bruce Allen stresses dependability, accountability
• Bruce Allen talks teamwork
• Bruce Allen talks about meeting with Brian Westbrook
• Local schools participate in NFL development camp
• Bruce Allen talking about HSPD on NFL Network
• NFL football camp centers on character

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  Fayetteville Observer-5/20/10 NFL football camp centers on character   By Randy Capps Staff writer   If all it took was talent to become a professional football player, the NFL would be a very different-looking place. It also requires hard work in the classroom to get into college, where a player can be discovered by pro scouts, and the ability to make decisions that keep that athlete on the field - and out of trouble. This week, some area players are taking advantage of some high-level instruction - and a good dose of exposure to instructors with pro and college experience - right in their own backyard. The NFL High School Player Development Program, a nationwide project that reaches 20,000 high school football players each year, is in full swing this week at Fayetteville State's Nick Jeralds Stadium. About 85 players from Cape Fear, Douglas Byrd and other region schools worked out under the direction of former NFL players George Williams, Charles Davenport and camp director Damon Wyche, a former N.C. State player. And while the football fundamentals are a big part of the program's vision, character development is also at the heart of the initiative. "(We stress) decision-making, making good decisions," Wyche said. "Taking care of their business in school first, then out on the field. (We're just trying) to show them how that all comes together for them, so they can be successful." The National Guard is the primary sponsor for the program, and according to Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone Liles, the relationship is mutually beneficial. "That's probably the main reason we got behind this program was the character development," said Liles, who is a local recruiter. "In the National Guard, we promote Army values, and those are some of the same values taught here in their character-development program." It's also a chance for Liles to interact with young men in a different setting. "It's a good opportunity for me to come out here and see these kids in a different light," he said. "Most of the time, we see them at a school display or something like that. This is a good chance to work with them one-on-one as athletes." For Wyche, it's a chance to give back to a game that's been good to him. "I just would really like to see these guys get the same opportunity I got," he said. "And understand that it takes a little bit more than some of these kids are led on to believe. "There's more than just doing it on the field. (I just want to) share some of my experiences and let them know that, even if they're in a good situation right now, keep striving." Staff writer Randy Capps can be reached at cappsr@fayobserver.com or 323-4848, ext. 354. SLIDE SHOW: NFL High School Player Development Camp http://www.fayobserver.com/articles/2010/05/21/1000580?sac=Home

• High school football players get taste of June workouts
• NFL program builds character, skills for prep players

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  Retired NFL player Willie Scott talks to a group of boys after a high school player development football camp in Gaffney. By KEVIN MELTON( page of 2 )GAFFNEY — About 40 prep football players from schools in North and South Carolina gathered to take part in the NFL Character and Skill Development Program on Thursday at Gaffney High School.Boiling Springs, Blacksburg, Broome, Chesnee, Gaffney and Spartanburg high schools each had players on hand to learn about character development, life skills and on-field techniques as part of the NFL’s High School Player Development Program.The camp, which began Monday and ends today, is being conducted by the Gaffney coaching staff.Former Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots wide receiver Willie Scott also made an appearance following Thursday’s drills to speak to the players about the importance of academics and being disciplined.The Newberry native and former University of South Carolina standout spent eight seasons in the NFL from 1981-88. He said the program will be beneficial to the players that chose to attend the camp.“I knew (the NFL) had these camps going on for a few years all over the state,” he said. “They asked if I could come up and speak, and I put it on my schedule to be here. We want to do all we can for the kids and tell them what’s going on out there and about life skills.”Scott also emphasized the importance of being responsible players and listening to their parents.Gaffney quarterback DeEdward Burris said the message was heard loud and clear.“You just try to embrace it all,” he said. “It’s just confirmation for me because it’s the same thing my parents tell me all the time.”HSPD regional director for the Carolinas Darryl Thomas said the program has a proven background.“The program works because some of our participants went on to play Division I and (other levels) of football,” he said. “If we can influence these guys now, college teams know they will get a positive player that is going to do the right thing. The college coaches and the NFL look at this as an investment.”Thomas added the camp is conducted under an NFL curriculum.A university’s practice film is also provided to the coaches of each camp to emulate throughout the week.Gaffney interim head coach Dan Jones said his staff watched a tape of Temple’s practice, which ended up as a learning tool for them.“It gives us as coaches a chance to learn and pick up things,” he said. “After watching a film, there may be a drill that you like that you end up running in your own practices.”Current NFL players that are graduates of the HSPD program include Ray Rice and Jared Gaither of the Baltimore Ravens, Kevin Barnes and Edwin Williams of the Washington Redskins, Vontae Davis of the Miami Dolphins, Aaron Maybin of the Buffalo Bills and Derrick Williams of the Detroit Lions.

• NFL Development Camp helps high school kids learn

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  NFL Development Camp helps high school kids learnby Jim HagueDEVELOPING TALENT – New Ferris coach Rich Glover (second left) welcomes some of the participants in the National Football League’s Player Development Camp that was held at Jersey City’s Caven Point Cochrane Field last week, namely from left, Sayveon Bunkley of Ferris, Troy Garland of Marist and Sharief Johnson of Bayonne. For the last three years, Rich Glover has spent time each June getting some local kids ready to play high school football – kids that not necessarily are from his own high school program. Glover, the former Dickinson coach who recently received his appointment as the new head coach at Ferris, has been involved with the National Football League’s High School Player Development program, a free camp that enables kids of high school playing age the opportunity to get a head start on the game of football. “I was involved in some of the camps in Newark, but they needed someone to get it started in Jersey City,” said Glover, the former University of Nebraska All-American and two-time Outland Trophy winner as the nation’s best collegiate interior lineman. “It helped a lot that I had experience in the NFL.” Glover spent a few seasons as a defensive tackle for the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles. “The NFL reaches out to former players to see if they could help this program,” Glover said. So last week, more than 150 kids from all different Hudson County high schools came to Caven Point Cochrane Field to gain some instruction and basics from a host of different coaches, led by Glover. “It was a good opportunity for the kids to get some basic fundamentals,” said Glover, who had assistance at the camp from coaches from Marist, Lincoln, Ferris, Dickinson, Bayonne and Jersey City Recreation. “Temple University sent a practice plan that we followed that showed drills. It also gave the kids a manual how to keep track of their classes so they could follow the NCAA guidelines.” Glover said that the NFL Player Development Camp is still in its infant stages, but it was free of charge, provided the participants brought a physical waiver form from a physician. “The goal is to get every local kid who plays high school football to come here,” Glover said. “It’s a great opportunity for them to learn.” It’s also helped Glover to meet and greet some of his new players. “We had about four or five kids from Ferris here, so that helped,” said Glover, who is in the process of assembling a coaching staff at his new school. “I’m looking forward to the new challenge.”…

• Bills players support HSPD program

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  BuffaloBills.com-6/11/10Bills players support HSPD program By Andy Major Intensity, specific skill development and hands-on assistance of Buffalo Bills players were the plays of the day as the Buffalo Bills Fieldhouse was home for over 200 local high school football players this past week.The Bills and NFL’s annual High School Player Development (HSPD) camp ran from June 8-11 and continued their focus on character development and specific football skill training.  The Bills players helped spread important positive messages.“The main thing I told them about is academics because that’s where it starts at,” said Bills running back CJ Spiller. “If you don’t take care of the grades, all of your time on the football field and all of that work is going to go to waste. I have a lot of guys in my hometown that had tremendous talent, but they didn’t get it done in the classroom and they’re still sitting there. You don’t have to be 4.0 students but if you try your best, and give it everything you’ve got, you’ll be fine.”Spiller backs up his talk. He could have left Clemson University a year early for the NFL, however he stayed in school and graduated with a degree in sociology.The camp is led by Tony Truilizio, HSPD camp director and Riverside High School head football coach, along with other coaches from Williamsville South, South Park, Hutch Tech, Lockport and Iroquois high schools.“The way the camp works out is there is a 45-minute offensive segment, then a 15-minute seven-on-seven segment,” said Truilizio. “Then we reverse that so the guys that were working on offense go to defense, and vice versa. It’s two hours of fundamental football, and the offensive and defensive line aren’t neglected either. We also do inside zone run and one-on-one drills with them so they are getting a lot of movement as well.”The Buffalo Bills players supported the camp on June 9th and Bills defensive back Dominique Harris, a former HSPD camp attendee, had positive memories with HSPD when he went through the program as a high school student-athlete.“It was a great experience for me to get to sit down with the NFL players and receive such good information," said Harris. "I just learned to work hard, and the coaches are very intense and teach you the skills you need to know to perform well. I felt like it was a big part of my development as a student athlete.”The Bills players that participated in the camp with Spiller and Harris were defensive lineman Arthur Moats, long snapper Garrison Sanborn, quarterback Levi Brown, defensive back Drayton Florence, offensive linemen Kyle Calloway, Cornell Green, and Sean Allen, tight ends Derek Schouman and Michael Mathews, linebackers Keith Ellison, Antonio Coleman, Ryan Manalac and Mike Wright, and safety Brett Johnson.“I’m excited that the Bills players came in and volunteered their time,” said Truilizio. “The players worked in their respective positions, cheered them on, and showed them a few pointers to bring more success to them on the field.”The participants in the camp paid extra attention to the pro's in their Bills jerseys.   “You learn from pro's here, you have them teaching you what they know,” said Mike Scinta, junior linebacker for Frontier high school. “The students here know that the pro players know what they are talking about. They teach you teamwork and they teach you how to be a team. I’m definitely coming back next year if I have the opportunity.”Some of the Bills players emphasized that the off-the-field attitudes and successes are just as important as the football accomplishments.Spiller said, “You just have to surround yourself with good people. If you do that, everything else will take care of itself."“If you don’t have the right skills off the field you aren’t going to make it into the NFL,” said Moats. “Lots of guys have the talent but you need to have more than just football skills. Off the field issues can deteriorate your career on the field. The fact that these kids are learning off the field skills about character, and being a better man is extremely important.”The HSPD program began in 2001 and is complimentary for student-athletes.  The program has grown to over 9,000 participants in 17 cities across the country.

• Bills lend a hand to next generation
• CAMPING OUT: Football program focuses on skills, character development
• NFL Development Camp comes to Bethel
• NFL brings skills and character program to Glades

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  NFL brings skills and character program to Glades   Palm Beach Post 7/21/10 LJ Margolis   Last month, aspiring athletes in the Glades participated in the National Football League's High School Player Development Program. The program began in 2001 with four host sites in New York City to help inner-city and underserved areas develop their football programs and players. Since then, the program has grown to more than 100 sites across the country. Last year, The National Guard became a partner with the NFL in the high school program. This year for the first time, Palm Beach County joined the roster with two host sites: Pahokee Parks and Recreation's Athletic Complex and Palm Beach Lakes High School. On June 25 and 26, sophomores, juniors and seniors from Glades Central and Pahokee high schools participated in the two-day, 10-hour program. Palm Beach Lake High's program was held the previous weekend. The program covered both on-field training and character development. On-field training focused on each student's chosen offensive position for half of the on-field time and defensive position for the other half. Those fundamentals were then applied to live drills. Not every student athlete will go on to become an NFL player. The character development component helps prepare all students for high school and college academic success and life and careers after school. Sessions included preparation for standardized tests, maintaining grade-point averages, and schedule organization using a student planner to help balance school, sports and social activities. The student planner developed by the NFL and National Guard focuses on a different character development tool each month, such as goal setting, time management, ethics and values, communication, teamwork, sportsmanship, active citizenship, attitude and motivation, emotional intelligence, discipline and responsibility, health and decision making. The program also helps students gain the skills to select the right college and apply for financial aid and student loans. The Palm Beach County Office of Community Revitalization helped coordinate Palm Beach County's participation in the program this year. That participation is expected to continue in the future, with more schools and other host sites throughout the county. "I am indebted to all for giving Palm Beach County and our high school kids the opportunity to participate in this amazing program," said Houston L. Tate, director of Palm Beach County's Office of Community Revitalization. For information on the NFL/National Guard High School Player Development Program, visit www.nflyouthpd.com.

2009 News

• NFL helping kids

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  NFL helping kids Receiver Mark Simmons hasn’t had it easy. But he stayed on the right track at DeSoto, earned a scholarship to Kansas and has spent the past three seasons on NFL practice squads.   As part of the NFL’s High School Player Development Program, which for the first time is being sponsored by The National Guard, Simmons last week spoke to Houston-area teenagers about his life experience.   “I think they were intrigued by talking to somebody who plays but yet understands what they go through,” Simmons said in a telephone interview. “I told them that they’re path is not going to be straight. There are going to be bumps in the road, whether it’s injuries, or grades or something else. They need to know that they need to get their grades right, because the odds are against them making it to the NFL. That’s just the reality of it.”   The NFL’s 10-year-old program provides sophomores through seniors a five-day camp focusing on character development as well as specific football skill training by position. It is run primarily in underprivileged areas.   Ravens running back Ray Rice participated in the program when he was in high school in New Rochelle, N.Y. He credits it with giving him an idea about what it took to become a successful collegiate student-athlete. Rice played at Rutgers and was a second-round pick of the Ravens last year, rushing for 454 yards as a rookie.   “I was real impressed with seeing some of the college coaches who were there,” Rice said in a telephone interview. “I wanted to try to make a name for myself. But the camaraderie I had with some of the guys there is really what I remember the most.   “ It was a gift and a pleasure to be a part of a great program in New Rochelle. Football was one of the things that really kept me grounded.”

• Bills' Maybin offers path to success
• Lions rookie: Keep dreaming, learning

2008 News

• Former Knights ready to fly under Penn State's Joe Paterno - Daily News
• City gridders carry flag - Schoolboy stars in 7-on-7 tourney at Gillette
• Building bodies, minds - Richmond-area students learn drills, academic skills at NFL development camp