Third Annual Maui Football Combine Set for June 15

By Rodney S. Yap

The third annual Maui Football Combine 2012 is scheduled for Friday, June 15, at Lahainaluna High School Stadium.
This year’s “Friday Night Lights” experience will be open to all high school female athletes from the Maui Interscholastic League, making the MFC the first combine in the state to test prep females.

“Although we don’t anticipate a huge number of girls signing up, we felt it was important to give our MIL girl athletes the same opportunity as the boys,” said Maui Football Combine head coach Bobby Watson. “There are a lot of girls here who want to extend their athletic careers and compete at the college level.  The numbers they put up at the Maui Football Combine will add to their prep resume and make them more attractive to potential colleges and college recruiters.”

The combine is restricted to underclassmen only, meaning current freshmen, sophomores and juniors are eligible.

The girls will test in the same five disciplines as the boys — 40-yard dash, L-Shuttle, Pro Shuttle, Vertical Jump and Bench Press.

The Maui Football Combine mission is to help prepare MIL athletes for the college opportunity should they be committed and motivated to play at the next level. Participating in a combine is the beginning of the recruiting process and performing well at one may jump-start an athlete’s recruitment.

“Football is a year-round commitment, especially for players with college potential or who have a desire to play college football,” Watson added. “The combine is their chance to showcase their hard work over the offseason and their performance card documents that effort.”

The Maui Football Combine posts each athlete’s profile and performance card on its website online for interested college recruiters.
A total of 174 athletes have been tested in the last two years. Online registration is now open.

The MFC performance tests are designed to evaluate each athlete’s speed, agility, strength and explosive power.

40-Yard Dash or “The 40” — The 40-Yard Dash has become the standard for speed testing.

Pro Agility Shuttle  (5-10-5 Short Shuttle) — The Pro Agility Shuttle is a measure of explosive lateral movement and multiple changes of direction.

3-Cone Shuttle or L-Shuttle (Long) — The 3-Cone Shuttle measures the ability of an athlete to change directions while continuing to run forward.

Vertical Jump — The Vertical Jump is a measure of an athlete’s lower extremity explosiveness.

Bench Press — The Bench Press is the last physical test performed and is reflective of an athlete’s upper body strength.

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The Nike Football SPARQ Combine is Saturday at Saint Louis School, beginning at 8 a.m. The event is open to students graduating in 2013-2015 and is free of charge.

At the Nike Football SPARQ Combine participants receive a SPARQ Rating that will help you focus your training to become a more explosive football athlete, and ESPNHS (formerly ESPN RISE) will be there to cover the event with photos and videos.

Interested athletes should register now.

ESPNHS have introduced thousands of top prospects to the national recruiting scene over the past 20 years after top showings at the Nike Football SPARQ Combines. The combines give athletes the opportunity to showcase their skills to the football recruiting world.

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Football University’s Oahu football camp will take place March 9-11 at St. Louis High School.

FBU is the nation’s most exclusive and elite football camp experience. Although FBU does have an invitation-only policy, due to the elite level of training and athletes, it strongly encourage parents, coaches and athletes to nominate themselves. Nominate an athlete now.

The camp opens on a Friday, March 9, with orientation, followed by classroom meetings by position, and on-field training.

On Saturday, March 10, the athletes meet in the morning for classroom Q&A session, followed by a NCSA presentation to athletes and parents, position meetings, on-field training, and lunch. In the afternoon, there are 1-on-1 drills, 7-on-7 live, leadership skills seminar, and film review.

On Sunday, March 11, begins with classroom session in the morning, followed by on-field training, and lunch. The afternoon session opens with a rules for success seminar, 1-on-1 drills, 7-on-7 live, and player evaluations.

Football University Oahu Instructors will feature more than 20 former NFL coaches and players instructing the FBU campers with a focus on individual, small-group and technical instructional settings. Headlining the 2011 Oahu camp was former NFL linebacker Kurt Gouveia, former NFL quarterback Chris Miller, former NFL wide receiver Bill “White Shoes” Johnson, and former NFL running back Robert Edwards.