The combine is not just on-field drills and workouts but a full day of panel discussions, breakout sessions, a social lunch and appearances from former and current collegiate and professional athletes.
A local non-profit organization is working to show local high school student-athletes that leadership goes past the field.
Game Changers is a non-profit organization founded by Warren native Michael Engram in 2013. Engram moved back to Warren from Hawaii after seeing the change that struck the Mahoning Valley.
Engram said the job loss in the area and the hardships that local kids go through motivated him to want to help and provide mentoring to student-athletes.
The organization has impacted over 4,300 students and awarded $30,000 in scholarships. Two scholarship winners have also went to Las Vegas to attend the ESPY awards.
Game Changers is hosting the GC-360 Leadership and Player Development Combine on June 29 at Youngstown State University and it is not a traditional football camp.
The combine is not just on-field drills and workouts but a full day of panel discussions, breakout sessions, a social lunch and appearances from former and current collegiate and professional athletes.
The combine starts at 8:30 a.m. with a keynote interview and three different panels highlighting the impact athletics has on life after players hang up the cleats.
One panel will feature collegiate athletes from YSU discussing the process of recruiting and the transition to college life and athletics.
A second panel features local business men and women that are former athletes. Engram noted the importance of showing young athletes that even if they do not make pro leagues or play college sports, they can still be successful in other industries and use skills learned on the field in their career paths.
A final panel will feature former NFL players including Howland High School, Michigan and Alliance of American Football standout De’Veon Smith, along with former NFL players J’Vonne Parker and Byron Wilson Jr.
The combine will also touch on social media etiquette, recruiting and academic standards and financial literacy.
Following the panel discussions, attendees and speakers will have the opportunity to connect and talk during a social lunch.
After lunch the student-athletes will take the field for breakout sessions before moving on to the WATTS Center to participate in the 40 yard dash, vertical jump and 3 cone drills.
Tickets for the event are $35 during the early bird period that ends June 1. Ticket prices bump up to $55 dollars after June 1, but the promo code WFMJ will lower the price back to $35.
