Young football players will have the chance to train with collegiate coaches at a special camp held in Olds this month.From July 13 to 16, the 20th annual All Pro Football Camp will be held at Olds College.Participants will be aged from eight to 19 and will receive instruction from Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) coaches.Some of the coaches include: Jerome Erdman of McGill University, Josh Kotelnicki of the University of Mary in North Dakota, Ryan Majors of William Jewell College in Missouri and Brett MacNeil, who had a 13-year CFL career and has a place on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' wall of fame.“The All Pro Camp is the only camp in Canada and probably North America where both CIS and NCAA coaches work together on the field to coach kids,” said Ron Dias, camp director.Dias is the national scouting director for All-Star Football and is responsible for ranking players by position for each graduation year. For 28 years, he has helped Canadian universities find talent for their rosters.During the camp, participants will have three workouts per day and classroom sessions.“To play university football, you got to get admitted to a school before you play for them. No matter how good of a player you are,” Dias said. “They're working hard on the field and then they're going into a classroom and they're getting instruction with the coaching in the classroom and it helps to tie in for them the importance of school with playing sports.”But when they're on the field, Dias wants camp participants to stay active.“I'd like to be able to see everybody moving. Not some coach standing there giving kids a lullaby for 10 minutes on the field. When they're on the field, we want them moving and learning,” he said. “And when they're off the field and they're in the classroom, that's when we can apply. The coach can go over his practice plans.”Dias said he hopes the event will simulate a team training camp for the 25 people registered so far.For information on how to register for the camp, call 519-206-2191 or email [email protected]@olds.greatwest.ca
