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Weekly UpdatesIn the course of building better football players over the last 15 years, the All Alaska Football Camp also has been building credibility and recognition. Featured last summer on ESPN's Sports Center as one of the most significant sporting events in the state, camp officials believe it is ready to leverage its reputation to attract corporate sponsorship.
"We want to give companies a chance to affiliate with a much loved program that has made a huge difference in the lives of thousands of Alaskans over the years," said Randy Klingenmeyer, who founded the camp in 1992. "At the same time, corporate sponsorship also will allow us to take the camp to a whole new level."
The program is privately operated by Klingenmeyer, who says it is recognized as one of the top football camps in the nation and one of the most unique as well.
"Nothing has had a greater influence on Alaska football in the past 15 years than the All Alaska Football Camp," said John Hosteader, who has been part of five state championship teams and who recently retired as the head coach at Eagle River High School. What makes the program so special are the 25 or more college coaches who fly in from 14 or more colleges and universities around the country to teach the players, assist the high school coaches and in some cases recruit seniors. Every year, college coaches at the camp sign 25 to 40 seniors statewide who go on to play college ball, but maybe even more importantly to earn a degree and improve their future.
"Only a very small fraction of athletes across the country ever make it to the NFL," Klingenmeyer says. "While we're extremely proud of our boys that have gotten there, (most recently Cole Magner signed last year with the Atlanta Falcons and Darrin Colledge was drafted this spring by The Green Bay Packers) we're helping most of our kids become all pro in another field ... the field of life."
Because college football does not exist in Alaska, athletes here once had to travel thousands of miles to the lower states if they wanted a chance to get scouted in person. But with so many different university coaches coming to the All Alaska Football Camp, Alaskan players now have one of the best opportunities in the country to get recruited.
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