Big John Manumaleuna Foundation San Diego event brought out some great people. Brandon Manumaleuna from San Diego Chargers game out to coach the kids and meet the community. Siga Tupea from TASK foundation was on hand with her staff all day supporting this great event. Bryson Kim from Island Pix and Tropical Jams were there and covered all the actions. San Diego area offers an incredible talent pool and that was showcase on Saturday. Check out some of this great pictures from Saturdays event. Click here
Dominique Moe, LB out of Timpview HS in Provo, UT and Braysen Deering, OL from Kent Meridian HS in Kent WA will be attending Dixie State University this fall. Congratulations to both athletes and their families for a great accomplishment.
Our Congratulation goes out to Logan for getting an opportunity to play for the University Idaho “Vandals” this fall. Logan was also sought after by some other Universities but decided to take the opportunity offer by the “Vandals”.
June 7, 2008 Big John Manumaleuna Foundation held it’s free football and volleyball camp at Foster High School in Seattle WA. Read more
Big John Manumaleuna Foundation and Ultimate Edge Sports would like to thank all the athletes, parents and also the coaches who attended the event Saturday, May 31st at De Anza College in beautiful Cupertino, CA. The Coaching Staff put together a fun learning environment for every level of competition. Athletes from Mt. Shasta, Sac Town and surrounding areas turned out and helped set a record attendance from previous years of Big John football camps being held in the northern region of California.
The event was highlighted with a guest appearance by Head Coach Dick Tomey of San Jose State University. Lots of “Alofas” sent out to De Anza College for hosting the event.
For more pictures click here.
Orange County California stop was a hot stop for the Big John Manumaleuna Foundation in the numbers of athletes and also in 103 degree heat that day. Read more
LinemenInc is excited to announce the 2008 camp dates and locations!
Both camps feature the same dynamic program and level of intensity.
Jun 21-23 Southern California- California State University (Long Beach)
Jun 28-29 Northern California- University of the Pacific (Stockton)
Space for both camps is limited.
Visit www.LinemenInc.com
Pat Chase is seeing his high school career come to an end and his dream of playing college football is slowly becoming a reality. Cle Elum Roslyn HS senior, Pat Chase, who signed his LOI in February, will be playing football for College of the Siskiyous this fall. Chase joins thousands of high school seniors preparing their final weeks as high school students. His lightning fast, open field runs under the lights on Friday nights will be great high school memories. He was named SCAC-1A Offensive Player of the 2007 Season. Chase attended spring practice a few weeks ago in northern California and is thrilled to be a part of a great program under the leadership of Coach Eric Young, Head Football Coach at College of the Siskiyous.
Chase understood getting involved with UES late his senior year could be the edge he needed to break through. There were thousands of athletes way ahead of him in the game. After a meeting with Coach Strickland, his parents were convinced that with the tools UES would be able to provide–plus Pat’s work ethic and athletic talent this would be a win win situation. Coach Strickland knew this kid was serious about wanting an opportunity to play at the next level because he was willing to work hard no matter what. “Pat suffered a shoulder injury in the last game of his high school career. For others, it might’ve just as well been a time to call it quits,” said Strickland. “With the football season behind him, he still had it in him to drive west of the mountains to train. One weekend the weather in the pass told it all. I didn’t expect him to show up. He did. He helped shovel snow to clear his drive way to get to our camps at Starfire!” Chase recorded a 4.32 forty at the end of his training sessions with UES. “They’ve got a great staff,” Chase said of Ultimate Edge, “they taught me things like how to move my hips faster. They put together a complete profile of my high school football career and used that to pitch various college football coaches.” “I was looking for a community college so I could start playing football right away,” he said. “In the bigger division schools,” he added, “you don’t always get to play until your junior or senior year; a small percentage do. Community colleges are a good place to start a football career, giving a player time to acclimate, develop, and be ready for bigger division football, which is what I hope to do. If things work out, I’ll transfer to a bigger school after I get my associate degree at COS. Chase is expected to arrive in August to begin practice with the Eagles. “It’ll be different,” Chase said, “I’ll have to earn my place on the team, but that’s what life is all about - you have to get out of bed and prove it every day.”
Posted by Michael Husted
There were some good articles in the New York Times recently about college recruiting and scholarship money. The series of articles definitely highlighted the somber tails that somestudent-athletes experience. Like anything else, we usually only get to hear or read about the top 1% who have success.I believe that there needs to be a shift of thinking in the college recruiting process, both by parents and student-athletes. As athletes we have pride. Sometimes that pride serves us well and other times it can hurt us. Most of us expect or hope for scholarships to play in college. Parents definitely hope for it and think that we are the next best player since Tom Brady(Coincidently, he was a 6th round draft pick.)Yes, college tuition is getting more expensive every year. Therefore, we feel that it is important to get a scholarship. I know that I was looking to get one to help my parents. (I was also hoping that if I got a scholarship out of high school, they would buy me a Suzuki Samurai with wood paneling on the side.)Neither happened. I ended up “walking on” at the University of Virginia and driving a beat up Ford Pinto with no A/C. The summer after I graduated high school, I received a call from Liberty University with an offer for a “full ride.” I respectfully declined.It should not be about “show(ing) me the money.” I understand that there are some people that cannot go to college for financial reasons unless they get an athletic scholarship.However, for this discussion, the shift in mind set should be focused on the benefits of playing college sports. Athletics offer more long term benefits then tuition alone. Pursuing sports in college can increases acceptance opportunities. Once there, just a few of the traits you learn are:
Those skills and a college degree will ultimately land you with a great job when you graduate. Many employers look first to student-athletes for the above mentioned traits when hiring. If fact there is even a website geared towards hiring student-athletes out of high school: http://www.athletes4hire.com
Good luck!
