Bountiful Poly camp grows in prestige

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Keith Lolofie, center, of Marsh valley Idaho tries to gently step over a group of teammates perched on a two by four board without anyone losing their balance and stepping on the floor. Not too easy for big guys, but fun. It was an excercise in communicating and problem solving as part of their charachter and team building skills at the All-Poly football camp that draws top Polynesian prospects from around the country - and some of the biggest coaching names in college football. It was being held at Bountiful High School on Thursday. Al Hartmann/The Salt Lake Tribune 6/17/09

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Bountiful » Organized chaos broke out at Bountiful High School's football and baseball fields late Thursday afternoon. Young football players hustled through an assortment of drills. Balls flew through the air. Parents and other onlookers eagerly watched from the stands.

Coaches relentlessly barked out orders.

"Bend those knees!"

"Shuffle those feet!"

"Let's go, let's go!"

The All-Poly Camp was in full swing.

The camp, founded by Bountiful High assistant coach Alema Te'o in 2001, was vibrant for the first day, with more than 300 high school players and between 30 and 40 college coaches from all over the country in attendance.

Te'o's camp, which ends today, remains one of the nation's showcases for high school talent and one of the least expensive at $150, but he stresses that his camp isn't simply about the fundamentals of football.

"From day one, we've pushed education like no other," Te'o said. "That's important to us.

"We want these kids to understand the value of college. And we tell them up front that not all of them will make it on a college scholarship, which is fine. You can still go to college and get an education, and your mind can take you places. We try to make sure that they understand, football or no football, education is going to be vital to who you become what and what you do with yourself down the road."

The camp, which

Since then, the camp has grown in ways unimagined by Te'o, who started it in an effort to help local kids develop. College coaches now flock to the camp, former NFL and college players volunteer their services, players of all positions and ethnicities sign up, and the number of attendees who are signing letters of intent to play college football has increased. The coaches also mentor members of the Polynesian Coaches Association, in addition to the players, who will scrimmage against each other on the final day.

Schools that were supposed to have coaches present this year included BYU, Utah, Utah State, Weber State, Stanford, Washington, Washington State, Colorado, Oregon State, UCLA, UNLV and Hawaii. Rutgers and Duke were also expected to send coaches, and some junior colleges and Division II schools have sent representatives in previous years.

Big-time exposure, little price for the participants. The camp has maintained a reasonable fee, which ranged from $50 to $150 for this year.

"Without a camp like this, kids can't afford to attend camp," said Fotu Katoa, director of Pacific Islander Affairs for the Utah Office of Ethnic Affairs. "There is no camp in the country that has 30-40 coaches at their camp. These [kinds of] camps are unaffordable for many."

Katoa's office plays a big role for the camp, providing scholarships to the camps for players who can't afford it and helping with other expenses. The Pacific Islanders Chamber of Commerce is one of a few other organizations that provides donations to the camp.

The donations have been vital this year, with the nation experiencing a deep economic recession. Te'o said that the camp usually has anywhere from $10,000-$12,000 committed from various donors, but only one donor provided funds this year. Te'o had to raise the camp's fee to $150 to meet the costs of running the camp, which includes paying airfare, hotel and rental car fees for the college coaches, among other things.

Some of the coaches had to attend the camp at their own expense, but they'd still do it, either way.

"We donate our time," UNLV offensive line coach Keith Uperesa said. "We do it because someone did it for us. We're inclined to do it down the line."

Evidence shows that the camp has been beneficial to helping more keeps obtain college scholarships. In the camp's second year, only three of nearly 70 participants signed letters of intent. Of the 90 seniors from last year's camp, more than 50 signed with colleges.

But some of the alums, who affectionally call Te'o "Uncle Alema," the academic portion of the camp was more important than the on-field instruction.

"The academic part is great," said Sam Fehoka, a 2005 alum who plays middle linebacker at Texas Tech and has two younger brothers in this year's camp. "It doesn't matter if you go on to play football at the next level. For those kids who aren't that talented and have a slim-to-none chance at [getting a college scholarship], it gives them a chance to consider something else outside of football."

That's the kind of legacy that Te'o expected to establish when he first started the camp. Although it has become more of a challenge to fund the camp, which finished with a budget deficit in at least four years, Te'o hopes to keep it going well past this year.

"Having an opportunity to do this and provide a different way for those kids to get somewhere has been a blessing for me and my family, in terms of building relationships, getting to know other people and seeing kids get better," Te'o said. "We've really excited about the tradition that we've started over the last nine years."

rturner@sltrib.com