What a weekend!  Athletic Republic was out in full force at the first Football University camp in Dallas last weekend.  Over 170 high school and middle school athletes who are serious about football attended the weekend-long event.  As a former collegiate player, the opportunity I had to learn from the FBU coaches was phenomenal.  Former NFL standouts who are passionate about teaching kids who are passionate to learn is a winning combination! The athletes were incredibly focused and attentive to everything the coaches had to say, from the beginning to the end of the camp.  Every parent I talked to was extremely happy with the experience their kids had over the weekend.

Athletic Republic was fully integrated into the curriculum—from conducting all dynamic warm-ups, to providing solid tips on improving test scores and football movement skills, to administering vertical jump, standing long jump, short-shuttle, and 40-yard dash tests.  We used our new SmartSpeed electronic timing system with RFID technology to record the 40 and short-shuttle tests and captured Dartfish video with every clip.   The system performed flawlessly!  We were able to automatically upload the tests scores and videos to AIMS shortly after the event.  Each athlete will be able to access their scores in the coming week and select which scores and video they want to include in their Rivals.com profile.

All in attendance were intrigued by the system and loved looking at the videos.  Using the most accurate electronic timing available at every FBU event makes it possible for kids to truly see how they stack up to some of the best football players in the country—there will be no question about the accuracy of the timing as the same system is used at every event. Plus, recording video with each test allows the athletes to better showcase their skills to college coaches.  A video also gives an Athlete Republic trainer a means to fully evaluate the athlete and find ways to make them better.

I would like to thank Shawn Dassie, Jerry Hill and Kyle Foster from our New Braunfels, Texas facility for all their hard work at the event.  They did a phenomenal job along with Tanya Porter and Tad O’Had from our corporate team.  We are very excited about the next FBU in San Diego on February 13-15 and the rest of the upcoming season. Come join us at FBU—it’s a blast!

Steve Swanson
Chief Science & Technology Officer, Athletic Republic