June 1, 2008
Orlando, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - For the third summer in a row, the UCF football coaching staff held a clinic for more than 100 of their female fans to teach the participants the ins and outs of the game played on the gridiron.
For close to five hours, 125 attendees participated in a number of football-related activities, including taking a similar tour with the coaching staff that top recruits receive when they visit the UCF campus.
"We like to do something different each year with this clinic and I think they really enjoy themselves," head coach George O'Leary said. "These ladies are taking a day away from the beach and their families to learn about the game of football and we want to show them a good time as well."
The tour included a number of stops throughout the sprawling facilities on the northeast side of campus. The first of which was in the Knights' lockerroom to see the gifts the players received for winning the 2007 Conference USA Championship and playing the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.
The participants then walked through the tunnel where the players enter the field at Bright House Networks Stadium and enjoyed a 10-minute highlight video from the Knights' first season in their new stadium.
Following the time at the stadium, the tour moved on to the Wayne Densch Sports Center where offensive coordinator Tim Salem and defensive coordinator Dave Huxtable spent around 30 minutes each going over different positions, plays and personnel groups UCF uses during the season.
The participants learned about I-formations, power plays, sweep plays, naked bootlegs, defensive personell groups, dime and nickel packages and following the presentations, O'Leary quizzed the participants to earn prizes.
After brief stops in the training room and the weight room, the ladies took their knowledge to the field where they huddled up with the coordinators and simulated plays inside the Nicholson Fieldhouse.
The clinic concluded with a lunch buffet served by Tailgaters, but before the participants were able to enjoy their lunch, a punt catching contest was held. Three ladies each won throwback jerseys for successfully catching a punt from a jugs machine that simulated an actual punt from nearly 40 yards away.
All participants received a t-shirt, a goody bag with gifts and coupons from numerous sponsors and the meal that brought the third-annual clinic to a close.