Football camps more than just about recruiting

Sometimes these summer football camps for high school players just seem like big speed-dating sessions for college coaches to find recruits and recruits to find college coaches.

But there’s a lot more to it.

“Yes, it has become part of the recruiting process, but the main intention is to allow the kids the opportunity to get better and learn more about the game of football,” said University of Hawaii head coach Nick Rolovich, whose two-day Rainbow Warrior Football Elite Camp gets underway today on the UH campus.

Pre-registration was closed with 275 athletes, but walk-ups will be accepted at today’s three-hour session that starts at 4 p.m. The players will work out in shells today and full gear on Saturday.

When they say “get better,” coaches mean not just as football players, but as young men. A big emphasis at camps in recent years has been to teach them to develop good habits that will help them get into college.

Rich Miano praised the hundreds of athletes at the conclusion of his Gridiron Performance Academy at Saint Louis School on Thursday.

“You showed a lot of desire by the little things,” he said. “Things like being on time. Like not fighting, playing in the parameters of the rules.”

That was after inspirational speeches from Azusa Pacific head coach Victor Santa Cruz and Southern Oregon’s Charlie Hall.

Santa Cruz, in a commanding voice that would put most drill instructors to shame, woke up anyone drowsy after a long hot day of football in full gear.

“I’m so grateful for my time here as a little boy in Kaneohe and then to return for college,” said Santa Cruz, who lettered at UH from 1991 to ’94. “Now being a Warrior is part of my DNA.”

Several other former UH players worked the camp, including Miano, Nate Ilaoa, Leonard Peters, Samson Satele, Isaac Sopoaga, Matt Wright, Jeremiah Cockheran and Derek Fa’avi.

Santa Cruz used the acronym CARE to expound upon attributes of courage, attitude, responsibility and effort.

“The energy you give out will either build or bleed your team,” he said, while addressing attitude.

Hall was a high school coach at Ashland (Ore.) when he was asked to apply for the Raiders job after the death of Craig Howard, who had led Southern Oregon to an NAIA national championship in 2014.

Hall used it as an example for the young athletes to always be prepared for unexpected opportunities.

During the drills, Saint Louis quarterback Chevan Cordeiro — a recent UH commit — was among those who looked sharp in 7-on-7 passing drills. On one pass, he split the defense to find fellow Crusader Makoa Close in the end zone for a 35-yard touchdown pass.

Former Kapolei quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa was 0-for-2 on his chances in the camp-ending showcase phase. But earlier he displayed savvy in smoothly checking off to a third read for a wide-open touchdown.

Another Saint Louis receiver, Jonah Panoke, won the camp’s overall MVP award. Waianae running back Rico Rosario won for most impressive offensive player, and Punahou’s Kaulana Makaula took the defensive player award.

“Just the opportunity to be competing among the best talent,” said Makaula of what he liked about the GPA camp. “Hopefully I can win another award (at the UH camp).”

Some fans question the wisdom of so many coaches at the UH camp being from Pac-12 schools with which Rolovich and his staff must compete for recruits.

“Part of the problem is without the ability to have high school coaches work (due to NCAA rules), we have to invite coaches (from other staffs) to give hundreds of kids a good camp experience,” Rolovich said. “We don’t have any from teams we’ll be playing the next two years. I don’t think it’s like we’re opening a mystical door to the idea that there’s lots of college football talent here. There’s already at least one Polynesian player on almost every college football team.

“And we’ve got a lot of coaches (at the UH camp) who went to school or coached here like Keith Bhonapha, Tony Tuioti, Ikaika Malloe and Darnell and Anthony Arceneaux,” added Rolovich, a former UH player himself whose staff also includes former Warriors Abraham Elimimian, Brian Smith and Craig Stutzmann.

Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. His blog is at Hawaiiwarriorworld.com/quick-reads.