Slater to pass on wisdom

NFL Hall of Famer Jackie Slater will be one of several speakers at

the first Coast Youth Football Camp put on by Orange Coast College,

specifically by Coast offensive coordinator Doug Smith and defensive

coordinator Scott Orloff.

Smith conceived of a summer football camp because he participated

in them growing up and wanted to give players ages 8 to 14 a chance

to prepare for the high school gridiron.

Smith and Slater, both All-Pros, were teammates on the Rams’

offensive line and each spent more than 10 seasons in the NFL.

With that experience, the two will bring boundless knowledge to

the camp that will also feature former USC Outland Trophy winner and

NFL veteran Brad Budde.

Players will receive a physiological profile that will measure

such things as resting heart rate, flexibility, rib strength and lung

capacity, in addition to participating in scrimmages, meeting daily

in small groups and obtaining recruiting advice.

Scrimmages, along with offensive and defensive drills, will all be

noncontact.

“The screening might tell them just where they are in their growth

at this stage in their lives,” Smith said about the physiological

profiling. “I had a similar test when I was 13 or 14 because I wanted

to get big. I began working my chest muscles every day.”

Smith, who lives in Mission Viejo, teaches an exercise science

class at OCC and was formerly an assistant coach at USC. Orloff has

21 years of experience coaching football in Orange County.

The two of them, along with help from the entire Coast football

staff, will conduct the camp June 23-27 on OCC’s practice field next

to LeBard Stadium.

“We’ve all been involved with [camps] before, just never acted on

that notion,” Smith said.

Current Coast players are also expected to speak during the camp

and Smith said he is even trying to lure Mike Riley, former coach of

the San Diego Chargers, to make an appearance.

“The speakers won’t talk for that long, probably 10 minutes

because the kids have too much energy to sit for that long,” Smith

said.

Smith is expecting about 100 players to come out.

Every camper will receive a T-shirt and daily snack. The camp,

which costs $175 if you sign up by May 15, will run from 8 a.m. to

12:30 p.m. each day.

Interested players can call Smith (714) 432-5179 for information

or to obtain a registration form. The camp’s Web site is

coastyouthfootballcamp.com.

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Softball coaches last week named OCC’s Emilee Bodiford, Christina

Wakeman and Kelly Sharum second-team All-Orange Empire Conference.

Bodiford, who played second base for most of the season, finished

with a .273 average and hit both of her home runs in conference play

as the Pirates finished 11-16, 6-12 in the OEC. The sophomore started

23 games for the Bucs.

Wakeman, a freshman, shared the team lead in home runs with three

and her 10 walks, .543 slugging percentage and .984 fielding

percentage were also team bests. She had three home runs.

Sharum, a sophomore, handled the catching duties for most of the

season, starting 21 games. She hit .222 with a team-leading 15 runs

to go with four stolen bases.