Traditionally, high school football camps focus on performance and ramping up intensity to get ready for the forthcoming season. Not at one camp in South Carolina.
Sure, that’s still part of the goal for Chapman High School (Inman, S.C.) head coach Mark Hodge, but it’s just that; one part of a much larger goal for Hodge.
As reported by South Carolina NBC affiliate WYFF, Hodge’s Player Development Camp splits time between football tactics and training and more evergreen life skills, like financial literacy, how to tie a necktie and even how to behave properly at the table during a formal meal. Even ironing was on the docket during the camp.
Those skills dovetail with broader speakers Hodge arranged to present to the group. Those speakers included both a sports psychologist and an FBI agent, not to mention the more generic “millionaire,” profile of a successful post collegiate businessman.
“We actually had a millionaire come in earlier and just tell us about different keys that he learned in his process of being an entrepreneur,” Chapman senior quarterback Mike Colasurdo told WYFF.
The larger goal for Hodge is to teach his own players to respond to other people rather than react instinctively to situations, something he feels will be essential for the student athletes once they finish their football careers, but which should come in handy on turf as well.
“I’ve seen so many kids, both bad home lives and good home lives that make poor decisions,” Hodge told WYFF. A lot of it is due to lack of knowledge, lack of experience.”
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