Scout Notebook: Immediate Reaction to the AVC Mega Football Camp

<p>Yesterday on Thursday, June 1, 2023 I had the privilege to cover Fairleigh Dickinson University Head Football Coach <a href="https://twitter.com/CoachAVC_FDU">Anthony Van Curen</a>'s AVC Mega Football Camp, hosted on the beautiful campus of FDU at Madison. Simply put, this event was a total BEAST. It was a "who's who" of high school prospects, high school coaches, and college coaches in attendance. The only thing better? The competition.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">"Mega" is not the right word</h2>   <p>I like to think I have a robust vocabulary; however, I was at a loss for words to describe the enormity of this event. Upon my arrival I was provided with a roster of attendees. The total number was over 620 prospects! These prospects traveled from near-and-close to far-and-wide. The event drew athletes as far north as Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Syracuse, as far east as Long Island, as far west as deep into Pennsylvania, and as far south as Maryland and Virginia. With 620+ prospects come parents, high school coaches, college coaches, and event staff. There was probably close to 1300 people on campus yesterday.</p>   <p>A few high schools that were particularly bought in sending numerous prospects to the event were: Cardinal Hayes (15), Seton Hall Prep (15), Toms River North (14), Immaculata (13), Rumson-Fair Haven (12), East Orange (10), St. Peter's (10), Depaul (9), Monsignor Farrell (9), West Orange (9), Palmerton Area (9), Delbarton (7), Elizabeth (7), and Hamilton East (7).</p>   <p>Special shout out to 2025 WR Elijah Beamon and 2025 LB Aftyn Cantrell, teammates at Casteel High School who made the journey all the way from <strong>Arizona</strong> to attend!</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Coaches-Meet-Coaches</h2>   <p>For as many athletes in attendance, there was a proportionate amount of coaches in attendance as well. My best guess as to how many individual colleges and universities were in attendance is probably about 90. This said, there was likely upwards of 150 individual college coaches in attendance. Similarly, high school staffs were in full force as well, networking with each other, connecting with college coaches, and - most importantly - supporting their players in every way that they could.</p>   <p>If you ever wondered what 620+ prospects and 150ish college coaches on a half-field at one time looks like, check out this <a href="https://twitter.com/BrendanScoutsNJ/status/1664384345602244608">tweet</a>.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Organized Chaos</h2>   <p>The preceding subheading was actually something I overheard another coach in attendance describe the event as in passing. What I think he meant by this was that it was exactly that. Including parents and spectators, there were close to 1300 people across the FDU's five athletic fields while there was constant movement and buzz. This may seem like an insane number, but as I have learned in my career running events is that once they start, they tend to themselves. </p>   <p>Kudos to Coach Van Curen and his event organizers. Given the massive hoards of people attending, check-in was done on a continual, rolling basis starting around 2pm. From there, athletes were measured and tested combine-style. The best part? All measurable data was entered real-time into an app for easy access. This enabled event staff to get prospects in, processed, tested, and ready to compete. </p>   <p>The best way to think of the on-field execution is as one of those old <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=Russian+Matryoshka+dolls&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS1021US1025&sxsrf=APwXEde-A_wiIQBzEyG8vxWpq0Pzq0hSAA%3A1685714085527&ei=pfR5ZLrlH4Sz5NoP1ZKA8A4&ved=0ahUKEwj6y4qq3qT_AhWEGVkFHVUJAO4Q4dUDCBA&uact=5&oq=Russian+Matryoshka+dolls&gs_lcp=Cgxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAQAzIFCAAQgAQyBQgAEIAEMgYIABAWEB4yBggAEBYQHjIGCAAQFhAeMgYIABAWEB4yBggAEBYQHjIGCAAQFhAeMggIABAWEB4QDzIGCAAQFhAeSgQIQRgAUABYAGDcAWgAcAF4AIABaogBapIBAzAuMZgBAKABAqABAcABAQ&sclient=gws-wiz-serp">Russian Matryoshka dolls</a>. Each field had a position group, which was then divided by high school class at either end of it. Each position-by-class was then broken down into circuits for agilities and indy. When it was time for group periods, position-by-class then reconciled. Group periods varied depending by which coach was heading it up; however, the consensus was either "firing squad" style or 2 x 2 half field. There was then another reconciliation period when we entered the competition/1-on-1 portion of the camp.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Competition</h2>   <p>Face it: everyone was there yesterday for the kids. As I was taking in the event, these prospects were full-bore balling their hearts out in hopes to capture the eyes of a college coach. Every rep was up for contention and each step was taken at full speed. As I was politicking a bit on the sideline some of the high school coaches in attendance were fired up when big plays were made and when they saw great technique. It was a beautiful to see coaches encouraging and enjoying great play, rooting for and even cheering "random" players they may never see again.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">'Cause Specialists Play Football Too</h2>   <p>Punters, kickers, and snappers got their run too. Like they often do in any high school practice, the majority of the time they were cast aside on their own auxiliary field left, to their own devices, to snap-kick-shag-repeat. This was different though - Coach Van Curen gave them their time to shine. Serving as somewhat of an intermission between the transition from group period to the competition period, the main field was cleared and all eyes were on the specialists.</p>   <p>Dubbed the "Specialist Showcase," it resembled a pre-game basketball shoot around. Guys were banging through kicks from all different hashes and distances. Akin to an auctioneer, a coach had a live mic and was calling out each prospect name, schools, and graduation years as they kicked so college coaches could get a look-see. They then transitioned to the live-operation portion of the event where colleges got a live look at kickers and snappers.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Celebration of the Greatest Game on Earth</h2>   <p>What I might have enjoyed most about AVC's Mega Football Camp was that it just felt like a complete celebration of the greatest game known to man. Athletes were competing and connecting, while they looked to have their hard work, dedication, and sacrifices pay off in the form of a scholarship. College coaches networked amongst each other as they strive to climb the ladder. High school coaches celebrated their players and enjoyed the play of others, also working to network, connect, and promote their program and its players. Parents spectated and enjoyed it all, watching their babies succeed as they relished in the fact that their babies are getting to do what they probably enjoy doing the most.</p>

Yesterday on Thursday, June 1, 2023 I had the privilege to cover Fairleigh Dickinson University Head Football Coach Anthony Van Curen's AVC Mega Football Camp, hosted on the beautiful campus of FDU at Madison. Simply put, this event was a total BEAST. It was a "who's who" of high school prospects, high school coaches, and college coaches in attendance. The only thing better? The competition.