2002 Sponsors

2002 Results

Brothers - Antonio Colon and Kevin Moodt played this year. Each had a brother who played last year

Fowler - Melvin Fowler returns for a visit. He played in the game and was an NFL draft pick this year.

Patriotism - A small �color� article about teamwork and patriotism. Quotes from coaches.

By operating youth football clinics, donating uniforms, and sharing publicity efforts, the National Football League has been a strong supporter of the Boomer Esiason Foundation (BEF) and the Outback Steakhouse Empire Challenge football game. BEF and Boomer Esiason, in turn, have helped the NFL by promoting the involvement of youth in organized football throughout the New York City metropolitan area. This year, the partnership between the NFL and BEF displayed a new influence on the Empire Challenge game itself: 28 players on New York City participated in a two-year-old program created by the NFL to help high school players improve their football skills and lives.

The NFL High School Player Development Program was created to help players in underserved urban areas. �We reached more than 600 kids in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and San Francisco this year,� said Scott Lancaster, who coordinates the program for the NFL.

High school football players who are not seniors are eligible to participate in the program. The program, offered in May, is the equivalent of spring football, which is not available for most public school players in urban areas. �For the first time, these players get to focus on fundamental skills at their positions, under the guidance of top high school coaches and Division III coaches,� said Lancaster. �This is a level of skills training that they just don�t get during the regular season.�

Six of this year�s Empire Challenge coaches participated in the program: Fred Snyder (head coach); Dom Laurendi; Mike Camardese; David Diaz; Vince Laino; and Al Patruzo.

In addition to football training, the players receive lectures on a wide variety of life skills subjects during the week, ranging from nutrition to AIDS prevention to using the Internet. �We bring in police offers, health experts, and so on. For many of these kids, this is new information,� said Lancaster. �No one has ever taken the time to tell them this before.�

As part of the application process each player is required to obtain his high school academic transcript and to bring it to program leaders for a careful review. �We look at their grades and scores to make sure that they are on track for graduation and college eligibility,� said Lancaster. �But we also look deeper, for example to see what classes they are taking. We emphasize how important academics are for all of them.�

College recruiters are invited to attend the week of workouts, and Lancaster says that the program is drawing a great deal of attention even though it�s only two years old. �We offer one-stop shopping for recruiters. In New York City�s program, we had kids from 40 high schools,� he said. �We see that Division II and Division III coaches are especially interested in these players. Sometimes these kids slip through the cracks, either because of academics or maybe their school doesn�t have much videotape of them on the field. We can correct these omissions and give kids a chance at college.�

The program extends beyond the week of practice. �Each player gets access to a personal web page,� said Lancaster. �This way, they can communicate with mentors for the rest of their high school careers on things like nutrition, speed training, or even personal counseling. The response to this part has been great-I�d say that 75 to 80 percent of the players are staying in touch with us.�

Lancaster predicts that the program�s positive influence on the Empire Challenge will grow in future years. �We have a great relationship with Boomer, the Foundation, and the Empire Challenge,� he said. �New York has been our highest-profile High School Player Development Program. We have 28 players in this year�s game, including 13 of the 22 starters. Next year we�ll have a majority of the New York City team.�