June 4, 2009

Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THINK DETROIT PAL GEARS UP FOR ANNUAL FOOTBALL CAMP
ANTONIO GATES SOUND MIND SOUND BODY FOOTBALL ACADEMY WILL SERVE 350 HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETES IN ITS SIXTH YEAR

DETROIT, MI.— Once again, Think Detroit PAL is helping expand collegiate opportunities for high school athletes by organizing the sixth annual Antonio Gates Sound Mind Sound Body Football Academy presented by Total Health Care.  The three-day camp will take place June 11-13th at Wayne State University in Detroit. 

“The camp is important because it allows student athletes from the Metro Detroit area to learn what it is like to be a college athlete and also to be inspired by others who have come from the same situation,” said Curtis Blackwell, associate director of athletics at  Think Detroit PAL.  “We want them to go back and say, ‘I can got to college too’.” 

Nearly 350 elite high school football players from Michigan, Ohio and Canada have been invited to participate in the three-day camp held at Wayne State University.  The program’s overnight stay on Wayne State’s campus differentiates it and presents the opportunity for students to acclimate to college life.

The camp will feature academic and life skills sessions as well as high level athletic training.  In class sessions, students will be educated on NCAA eligibility, goal setting, ACT prep, conflict resolution and STD awareness.  On the field, they will participate in position specific drills led by San Diego Charger and Detroit-native Antonio Gates.  Division-1A college players will also serve as instructors and counselors.  In addition, the players will have an opportunity to compete against each other and show off their skills for college coaches in the stands.  Last year, eight students received scholarship offers at the camp.

Thanks to the generosity of Gates and other NFL players, the average cost per player is about $75.  The majority of players from Detroit have been sponsored. 

Think Detroit PAL was formed on March 1, 2006, by the merger of two of the leading youth development organizations in the Detroit area:  Think Detroit, Inc. and the Detroit Police Athletic League (PAL). The organization is one of the largest non-profit urban youth leadership programs in the nation, and serves nearly 12,000 youth annually.

For more information or to volunteer or make a donation, please contact Think Detroit PAL at 313.833.1600 or on the web at www.thinkdetroitpal.org