Well, we get nearer and nearer to the opening of our Sound Mind Sound Body Europe here in Switzerland. The weather has been very warm, and we have seen a few evening thunderstorms. The one a night ago was pretty rugged as it blew in across Lake Lugano.
As I mentioned earlier…. There has been a little disappointment in the limited numbers that we attracted. However maybe some of that is our naivety and our underestimating the power that the summer holiday in Europe has. Or, perhaps there just not enough here is Switzerland or perhaps even Europe. But, we are here and we will let it play out.
Our goal as a group was to try and break even this year. It looks as if that might just happen if we can get a few walkup participants tonite and tomorrow. I think the odds of gaining a few more are high.
The players who are here are going to get well treated and we will coach them the best we can. I feel very confident in our instructors since we have several very talented coaches including two visiting coaches in Ricco Merola from the Jaguars of Turino, Italy and Spencer Wood the Head Coach of the Belgian Junior National team. We will also have several members of the coaching staff from the Swiss National team visiting with us.
With Terry Copacia running the “European” version of his All State Quarterback School here in Tenero anyone who wants to learn how to throw the ball better will have that chance. He is a fantastic teacher and a great communicator. It will be fun to watch the improvement of these young men learning this difficult position.
Another outstanding benefit of this camp is the amount of gear the players will be receiving thanks to the generosity of Curtis Blackman the founder of Sound Mind Sound Body and the leader of our new venture here in Switzerland. It really is amazing what these guys will walk away with!
We will make our way over to the facility and begin the setup early this afternoon. I am sure there will be a few glitches along the way. But, I feel confident our group will smooth out all of the rough spots as they pop up.
It was interesting spending time with Spencer Wood of the Belgian National squad. He is an American who has spent a lot of time in Europe. A native Californian who has played and coached at various places in Europe – he brings a great deal of knowledge about the European football landscape. This is something that we were looking for when we connected with him.
Spencer is also a very bright young coach who has a very good handle of things from an offensive point of view. He and Terry spent a long time discussing QB play and offensive philosophy yesterday. We are glad that he decided to come to Tenero because he will be a tremendous asset to our program this weekend.
Another fantastic addition to this weekend’s program will be Curtis’ sister Jazmine (probably misspelling her name). She is a former basketball star and now a coach. She is responsible for keeping Curtis in line and she has been doing a great job of that.
But, she will obviously be invaluable as she knows what Curtis needs. His part is a critical link to this venture. I really believe that he will be able to expand his network and increase his strength in the US through this exposure. His willingness and business savvy has opened my eyes up to how little I know about how to run a successful enterprise. (He has also taught me that I have no business being in business!)
What I am going to do is stay out of the way and let these guys do the things they do so well!