Sobrado, Wade showcase skills at UC Davis
Two FC student athletes attended a prestigious football camp for high school standouts over the summer. Slater Wade, ’17, and Sage Sobrado, ’17, were among nearly 2,000 players invited to showcase their skills at UC Davis.
Different colleges from around California traveled to Sacramento to watch tryouts for the regional camp. Wade and Sabrado went to a high school and showcased their skills. If they performed well they would get an invite to a week long camp.
There at the high school they picked 2,000 players out of about 50 camps in the United States. The 2,000 players selected had the opportunity to go to one of five camps across the country. Locations for the camp included California, Texas, and Ohio. They both attended the UC Davis camp in Sacramento, with 200 other players.
Going into the camp Wade knew that it would be challenging. Learning new plays and developing a bond with everyone around them were the most difficult parts of the experience.
“Throughout that week we had to learn a whole new offense, we had a whole new coaching staff and it was really difficult,” Wade said. “There were a lot team meetings, about three practices a day which were two hours each in full pads. We had to build chemistry with kids, that you had no idea where they were from. We had one kid from Florida, another from Kansas and another from Texas. Those are just some of them who were on my team.”
Each team had about 20-30 offensive and defensive players. They split the 200 kids up into five teams and then played each other in games. Out of those five teams the coaches would go to one team and split up the offense and defense. Then the Friday and Saturday games combined offenses and defenses with their team, and played against other teams with their grade level and skill.
Wade and Sobrado both started in their game as their team won, 24-0.
At FC, the football team plays 8 man football opposed to the traditional 11 man football. Sobrado expressed that he was worried about the final game and was not sure how he would perform.
“I was a little nervous for the final game because we play eight man here at school and we played eleven man there, but we did pretty well,” Sobrado said. “There were quite a few coaches from colleges around the country watching us play but there were no recruiters from UC Davis due to some of the rules. It was a great experience overall and I hope to get invited to the international bowl in Texas.”
Wade was initially nervous about going into the camp. Overall, he enjoyed his experience and felt like he was playing college football. Wade enjoyed experiencing competition like he never had before.
“It was a little scary when I first got there. I enjoyed all of it, however I felt it was overpriced but it was definitely worth the experience,” Wade said. “It was the closest thing I could come to college without being in college. Everyone was good, even the “worst” were still good. That was the most competition I have ever had to be apart of. It felt like I was on a college team.”
Football coaches from across the country traveled to watch these players. Coaches from Cal Poly, Ohio, Michigan, University of California, and USC stopped by to watch them perform.
Both hope to get invited to play in the international bowl in Texas. 200 kids from those 5 national camps will be selected to join the international team. They will play in the international bowl, where the team of the most elite 200 players in the United States play against teams Canada, Japan, Norway. The game is at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas and will be broadcasted live on ESPN.
To learn more about the USA developmental camps, visit USAfootball.com
To read more about FC sports check out, FC football sports short: Kings Christian
This writer can be reached via email: Vanessa Wood.
