Giving Back

Two Regional Directors of the NFL High School Player Development program presented by the National Guard discuss how coaches everywhere can give back to the game.

Most successful coaches recognize that they are fortunate to have made a career out of football. That’s what motivates so many to give something back to the game by participating in activities that can make a difference – using football to be a positive influence with youth in their communities.

Hundreds of coaches give back to the game every year by participating in the NFL High School Player Development program, which is presented by the National Guard. The NFL HSPD provides high school players, primarily in underserved communities, with multi-day football instructional camps that also emphasize character development – at no cost to the participants. In 2012, there were more than 200 camps that mentored nearly 40,000 young athletes in all 32 NFL markets and 43 states plus Puerto Rico.

The HSPD camps provide an instructional curriculum with drills and on-the-field activities designed and provided by a leading college coach – this year the University of Miami’s Al Golden. Off the field, the athletes participate in a character development session conducted by coaches and often by members of the National Guard. The sessions provide valuable guidance to participants – helping them to be more productive and successful individuals in the classroom, in the community, and at home.

HSPD Regional Directors are responsible for overseeing multiple camps and ensuring that sufficient numbers of local coaches participate in the program. HSPD provides many great opportunities to coaches everywhere, from promoting attendance to players at your school and in your community to staffing the camps and helping everything run smoothly to organizing and coordinating a new HSPD camp in your area in association with the NFL.

AFM recently spoke to two HSPD Regional Directors about how and why coaches should get involved with the camps in 2013. John Austinson, who is Head Coach at Byron High School (MN) and Regional Director for six states – Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska. He’s been involved with HSPD for five years and was responsible for 11 HSPD camps and two HSPD 7-on-7 Regional Tournaments in 2012. Eloy Ledesma is Regional Director for Southern California and six additional states – Washington, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Alaska, and Hawaii. 2013 will be the 2nd year with HSPD for this former Student Manager/Football Operations assistant under Pete Carroll at USC.

AFM: What are the most important benefits for athletes who attend HSPD camps?    

Eloy Ledesma: Individuals that attend HSPD camps are provided with unparalleled resources and a very unique experience that centers around developing high school athletes both on and off the field. No other camp supplies participants with materials prepared by the NFL’s Player Engagement Department that provide critical information on time management, social media responsibility, and a multitude of other pertinent topics facing high school students. On the field, players go through a strict practice regimen put together by an elite college football program each year which focuses on basic football fundamentals that would benefit players from every skill level.

John Austinson: The most important benefit from attending our HSPD camps is the sound techniques the athletes will learn from our character development, football skills and teamwork portions of our program that will make any football program stronger.

What are the different ways that active or retired high school coaches can get involved
in the HSPD program?

Austinson: We welcome all coaches, active or retired, who want to be involved in the HSPD program. They are the ‘keepers’ of our game. They can visit the HSPD website (www.nflhspd.com) and find out where camps are being held around them. They can send an email to us from the website, which we will respond to, or find the contact information on the website of the Regional Directors and/or Site Managers of the sites in their area and reach out to us. We love hearing from coaches who want to be a part of this wonderful program and will make any effort to see what can be done to get them involved.

Ledesma: There are numerous levels of involvement that current/retired high school coaches can choose if they would like to be a part of the HSPD program.

From deciding to run an HSPD camp in their local community, participating as a coach in an already established camp, or simply volunteering or speaking at a site, high school coaches are essential to the overall success of the NFL HSPD program and development of student-athletes.

What benefits does a coach receive from being involved in the HSPD?

Ledesma: Coaches that participate in the HSPD program are provided with the opportunity to associate themselves with the NFL brand and further develop their knowledge of the game.  HSPD camp coaches are all supplied with a DVD filled with hours of position-specific drills outlined and thoroughly explained by the coaching staff from the University of Miami.  This camp provides a forum to bring coaches together from the local community to one location, all coaching one universal style and technique that facilitates the growth and a greater understanding of basic fundamentals.

Austinson: The benefits are many. The biggest benefit a coach receives by bringing his players to an HSPD camp is the chance to work with their young players to make their football programs stronger and make them better players and citizens. If coaches decide to work at an HSPD camp, they get the benefit of working with other local coaches and National Guard members in their communities to make the young athletes at the camps better players and people.
How have the HSPD camps made a positive difference in their communities?

Austinson: I see the positive in the faces of the athletes in my area at the camps I run. They are excited and appreciative of the chance to come to a quality, free camp, which maybe they couldn’t otherwise afford. When they are taught sound skills from high school, college, and sometimes pro coaches and athletes who they know care about them, you can see the excitement in their faces. And for me, that’s the best part.

Ledesma: HSPD camps are designed specifically to bring communities together. The camps are structured to break all associations among teams and schools by dividing players solely by their position. The HSPD camp facilitates the development of a mutual respect among participating players and coaches that carries beyond the duration of the event. They serve as a bonding opportunity by breaking down barriers and having all parties involved working towards the same goal – to compete within themselves to bring out their very best.

The NFL invites all football coaches to get involved in the HSPD. Whether it’s coaching at a local camp, organizing and hosting a camp in your area, or promoting the camp to your players and to other coaches in your league or region, the NFL HSPD program presented by the National Guard is a great opportunity for you to give back to the game and help young athletes become better football players and better citizens.

GET INVOLVED IN 2013 If you’re a coach who wants to share your expertise with athletes in your area, you can contact the NFL HSPD program and volunteer your services as a coach at your local camp. If you can spare more time and would really like to give something back to the game, you can organize a new HSPD camp in your region. Either way, you’ll be part of the nation’s best summer camp program for deserving athletes – improving football skills and building character with the NFL HSPD program presented by the National Guard. 

For more information, visit www.NFLHSPD.com and enter the promo code AFM113.