2008 NIKE Camp Schedule
Sun., April 6th - Miami, Fla. - Univ. of Miami
Sun., April 13th - Gainesville, Fla. - Univ. of Florida
Sun., April 20th - Los Angeles, Calif. - USC
Sat., April 26th - Fort Worth, Texas - TCU
Sun., April 27th - Baton Rouge, La. - LSU
Fri., May 2nd - Chapel Hill, N.C. - North Carolina
Sat., May 3rd - Tuscaloosa, Ala. - Univ. of Alabama
Fri., May 9th - Columbus, Ohio - Ohio State Univ.
Sat., May 10th - State College, Pa. - Penn State Univ.
Sat., May 17th - Stanford, Calif. - Stanford Univ.
Sat., June 7th - Eugene, Ore. - Univ. of Oregon
Sat., June 14th - Provo, Utah - BYU
2008 NIKE Combine schedule and online registration here!!
2008 will mark the eleventh year of the NIKE Football Training Camps, the premiere football events for the top high school football prospects in the country looking to move onto the next level. Started in 1998, the NIKE Camps are designed by football people for football players - often imitated over the years, but never duplicated!
Important Note: There will no longer be testing (40-yard dash, bench press, etc.) at the NIKE Football Training Camps - or college camps for that matter - due to new NCAA legislation. Any player attending a NIKE Camp will need to go to a NIKE Combine first to get tested and get a SPARQ Rating. Information on the 2008 NIKE Combines, including online registration, can be found here .
(Q)Who attends the NIKE Football Camps and what is their purpose?
(A)Elite high school players with college potential are taught position-specific and athletic performance drills designed by some of the top NFL football players and sports performance specialists in America, and it is all FREE for the athletes. The players will have an opportunity to work with SPARQ Trainers that have molded stars such as Walter Jones, Michael Vick, Warrick Dunn, Derrick Brooks, and many more.
(Q)What exactly happens at a camp?
(A)Athletes who come to the NIKE Football Training Camp will register, where they will pick up their free NIKE Pro workout shirt, and get their photo taken. After height and weight are measured, the NIKE Football Training Camp is broken down into three parts:
1. SPARQ TRAINING: After a proper, supervised "dynamic warmup," SPARQ trainers work participants through specific drills designed to improve athletic ability, speed and explosiveness. Here, athletes have the opportunity to tap into the secrets of proper workouts that have helped players make it to the NFL, including cone and ladder drills. This period educates participants on how to improve football-specific speed, agility and quickness movements, and also how to train specifically for the needs and requirements of their individual positions.
2. POSITION SPECIFIC DRILLS: Participants are separated into position groups (QBs, RBs, WR/TEs, OLs & DLs, LBs & DBs) to work individually on football skills and techniques with top-notch position coaches with college and NFL experience.
3. ONE-ON-ONES The NIKE Camp concludes with one-on-one passing and non-contact line drills, which many say are the highlight of the camp.
(Q)Are there other benefits?
(A)Definitely! The NIKE Football Training Camps provide the best opportunity for national exposure that a camp can offer. Reports on the top performers in drills are delivered each week to Division I college football programs all over the nation, and college coaches themselves come out and evaluate at certain camps. Video and action photos for Student Sports and other national media will be taken. Participants will also be part of the in-depth coverage on the Student Sports website StudentSportsFootball.com and other national websites Student Sports works with such as Rivals.com.
(Q)How does a player get registered to attend a NIKE Football Training Camp?
(A)The NIKE Camps are free and registration information is sent out to top players/recruits who are in the Class of 2009. Players can be recommended by their coach as a high level recruit to preregister for the camp. If a recommendation is not possible then a player may send in a 5 min. video highlight tape so he can be evaluated. A third way to get registered is to test well at a NIKE Combine.
Coaches can send in recommendations as soon as the season is complete... please include 2007 statistics, height, weight, position, honors/accolades, etc. with videotape if possible. Mail tapes and recommendations to:
Student Sports
23954 Madison St.
Torrance CA 90505
(Q)I've heard one benefit of the camp is seeing other great players. Is that true?
(A)Yes, the camps are known for the quality of football players they attract and one benefit to you will be seeing how you rate with your peers. Consider these numbers:
• Every year, about one of every three NIKE Camp attendees signed with a D-I college, and this past year, 43% of high school seniors who signed a football scholarship attended a NIKE Camp.
• The consensus No. 1 player in eight of the past nine classes — USC's Joe McKnight (Class of '07), FSU's Myron Rolle (Class of '06), Penn State's Derrick Williams (Class of '05), Detroit Lion Ernie Sims (Class of '03), Florida State's Lorenzo Booker (Class of '02), Detroit Lion Kevin Jones (Class '01), Denver Bronco D.J. Williams (Class of '00) and current Washington Redskin T.J. Duckett (Class of '99) felt it important enough to attend one of the NIKE Football Training Camps.
• Every top college football program evaluates and signs recruits who come to NIKE Camps: for example, every one of the 117 Division I college football programs currently has a NIKE Camp alum on the roster. Also, in the past, major programs like Oklahoma, USC, Florida and Ohio State have signed more than a dozen NIKE Camp attendees in one class!
• Here's a look at some of the biggest names from the NIKE Camp's past...
Current NIKE Camp alums in the NFL:
LB Lance Briggs (Bears)
DT Tommie Harris (Bears)
DB Devin Hester (Bears)
QB Kyle Orton (Bears)
LB Ahmad Brooks (Bengals)
QB Carson Palmer (Bengals)
LB Keith Ellison (Bills)
QB J.P. Losman (Bills)
WR Josh Reed (Bills)
DB Donte Whitner (Bills)
DB Ashton Youboty (Bills)
RB Mike Bell (Broncos)
QB Jay Cutler (Broncos)
DE Elvis Dumervil (Broncos)
LB D.J. Williams (Broncos)
QB Charlie Frye (Browns)
FB Lawrence Vickers (Browns)
DB Phillip Buchanon (Buccaneers)
QB Bruce Gradkowski (Buccaneers)
RB Cadillac Williams (Buccaneers)
DT Darnell Dockett (Cardinals)
WR Larry Fitzgerald (Cardinals)
QB Matt Leinart (Cardinals)
DB Antrel Rolle (Cardinals)
DT Gabe Watson (Cardinals)
OL Marcus McNeill (Chargers)
QB Brodie Croyle (Chiefs)
DB Jarrad Page (Chiefs)
DB Bernard Pollard (Chiefs)
DE Marcus Spears (Cowboys)
DB Jason Allen (Dolphins)
OL Winston Justice (Eagles)
DE Jerome McDougle (Eagles)
DB Jimmy Williams (Falcons)
RB Michael Robinson (49ers)
DT Barry Cofield (Giants)
WR Sinorice Moss (Giants)
LB Gerris Wilkerson (Giants)
TE Marcedes Lewis (Jaguars)
TE George Wrighster (Jaguars)
QB Kellen Clemens (Jets)
WR Brad Smith (Jets)
LB Jonathan Vilma (Jets)
RB Brian Calhoun (Lions)
DT Shaun Cody (Lions)
RB Kevin Jones (Lions)
LB Ernie Sims (Lions)
WR Keary Colbert (Panthers)
DB Richard Marshall (Panthers)
QB Matt Cassel (Patriots)
WR Chad Jackson (Patriots)
TE David Thomas (Patriots)
DB Tye Hill (Rams)
TE Joe Klopfenstein (Rams)
DB Nnamdi Asomugha (Raiders)
QB Kyle Boller (Ravens)
RB Willis McGahee (Ravens)
DT Haloti Ngata (Ravens)
DT Kedric Golston (Redskins)
RB Clinton Portis (Redskins)
RB Najeh Davenport (Steelers)
WR Santonio Holmes (Steelers)
TE Owen Daniels (Texans)
WR Andre Johnson (Texans)
WR Brandon Jones (Titans)
LB Stephen Tulloch (Titans)
QB Vince Young (Titans)
LB Chad Greenway (Vikings)
DE Kenechi Udeze (Vikings)
Currently over 100 NIKE Camp alums currently dot NFL rosters, and that number is sure to grow in the next six months as current college stars that attended a NIKE Camp complete their senior seasons and get ready for the NFL Draft. The NIKE Football Training Camps are where the best go to compete and get better!
(Q)Can a bad performance at the NIKE Camp hurt my stock?
(A) No, definitely not. The NIKE Camp is about getting better and competing. Participants DO NOT test! This is not a combine—doing the 40s, bench, etc. is not a part of the event. Testing is done at the earlier NIKE Combines, which will run from Feb.-April at 16 locations around the country.
Bottom line, this is a top-of-the-line, well-organized event that top players can come to compete with and learn from the best. Don't let someone tell you NOT to go to a NIKE Camp without calling us at 800-660-1334 to put your concerns to rest, as there is a lot of misinformation out there and it's important to go to the source with questions. Student Sports has been serving student-athletes for 20 years because we always place your best interests first!
•For more information regarding the 2008 NFTCs, if you are a coach recommending a player, or to submit an all-state or all-area team with nominees on it, please contact Brian Stumpf or Greg Biggins at the following: [email protected] or [email protected]
•For any other questions, or to talk about the NIKE Football Training Camps, click here to go to the NIKE Football Training Camp Messageboard.