Past Bowl Summaries

2009 - Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

The Offense-Defense All-American Bowl , one of the elite high school all-star football games in the nation, is relocating from the Orange Bowl in Miami to the Myrtle Beach area in 2009, Offense-Defense Sports president Rick Whittier announced on Thursday, May 8.

The Offense-Defense All-American Bowl, featuring 88 of the best high school seniors in the country , will be held Jan. 2, 2009, at Coastal Carolina University's Brooks Stadium. The game will be nationally televised by the Fox College Sports Network and selected Fox Sports affiliates throughout the country.

The 2008 Offense-Defense All-American Bowl was the last game played at the Orange Bowl before its demolition, but O-D Sports officials didn't have to look far for a new home site. With the company's headquarters in Myrtle Beach, it made sense and good business sense to hold the game there.

"Of all the locations and venues that were available to us, none made a better fit than the Grand Strand and Coastal Carolina University," Whittier said. "It's a growing community that has been supportive of our efforts and it's popular destination that will raise the profile of our game and our All-Americans."

"Our game will be good for the Grand Strand by bringing exposure and visitors to the beach at a time when tourism is slow," Whittier added. "We hope to put on a showcase the community can be proud of and will embrace for years to come, just as fans can follow these players' careers for years to come."

The players are selected for the game from the Offense-Defense Top 100 list - a national ranking system identifying the top players in the country. The O-D Top 100 is so respected that Sports Illustrated signed a two-year agreement for exclusive use of the ranking in its publications.

The players and their families will arrive in Myrtle Beach after Christmas and spend the week practicing and sightseeing on the Strand before the game. The O-D All-American Bowl takes place after the Beach Ball Classic, one of the top high school basketball tournaments in the country.

Efforts are under way to host a national golf tournament and cheerleading competition to help promote the Grand Strand's sports tourism industry. Plans call for the week of Dec. 26-Jan. 2 to be designated an "All-American Sports Week" in Myrtle Beach, which SI has named an "All-American Sports Town."

2008 - Miami, Florida

The Offense-Defense All-American Bowl Selection Committee conducts and supervises the Offense-Defense All-American Bowl selection process. The committee is comprised of ex NFL coaches, scouts and players! The Selection Committee evaluates athletes across the country, starting with those who attend the Offense-Defense Elite Camps. The committee then proceeds evaluate thousands of the nation’s top prospects during the spring and summer. The top 100 seniors in the nation are then nominated and considered for selection to the Offense-Defense All-American Bowl. Of the nominees, approximately 80 Offense-Defense All-Americans are selected and invited to play in the early January All-Star event. Offense-Defense All-Americans are selected during the Offense-Defense Elite Camp Tour, which takes place throughout the summer. All Offense-Defense All-Americans must be in good standing within their schools and surrounding communities.

Offense-Defense has been specializing in the instructional football and recruiting industry since 1969. Recognized as the country’s leading expert on football skills cultivation and talent training, Offense-Defense currently boasts an impressive 300+ alumni who have found success on the professional stage. Over its decades-long existence, Offense-Defense has grown from a single-city training event to a 40-city tour, encompassing the entire continental United States with plans for expanding abroad. Offense-Defense staff tirelessly log thousands of miles each year to evaluate more than 5,000 of the top high school football players across the country.

2007 - Fort Lauderdale, Florida

On January 4th, the inaugural Offense-Defense All American Bowl was played at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and broadcast on ESPNU before a prime time nationwide television audience. It was the East versus the West, with each team made up of 40 of the best high school seniors from across the nation as determined by Rivals.Com, a leader in the recruiting/sports polling industry. East TrophyThe other big high school All American Bowl is the U.S. Army All-American Bowl played at the Alamo dome in San Antonio. Vince Young and Reggie Bush, among others, have played in this game. Many of the players in the Offense-Defense Bowl declined invitations to play in that game so they could play in the O-D Bowl.

Before I go further, I will address the question that many Plymouth residents might have and that is why is this game being reported in Plymouth? Offense-Defense Football Camp (in business for four decades), the Bowl organizer, has for the past several years been attended by a host of football players from the Jaguar Football Program. More importantly, as a game photographer and photographer of the week-long events leading up to the game, I had a chance to get to know these truly gifted athletes and used the opportunity to find out a little about what it took for them to attain this incredible level so that I could share their thoughts with the promising young athletes from Plymouth. This report is meant to further inspire local athletes to strive to reach the top and to offer first hand insights into what they can do maximize the likelihood of their reaching the top of their chosen sport.

Many of us have been fortunate to listen to professional sports players tell how they earned their coveted jobs. But for young players to hear it from other young sports leaders, there may be a better connection and more effective conveyance of the all- important steps that emerging athletes must take to live what many will only dream about.

What type of dream are these players living? The players selected to play in the Offense-Defense All American Bowl were, at no cost to them, flown to Fort Lauderdale, put up at the Marriott, fed incredible buffets including a barbecue on the beach, transported to beautifully maintained practice fields (West on one field, East on another) via luxury coaches, provided top of the line equipment and uniforms, coached by top high school coaches (supported by retired NFL players) including Hoover High’s Coach Propst featured on MTV’s Two a Day reality show. During the week the players were often interviewed by the press. They played football on the national stage.

Most of these players have committed to full scholarships at division one schools such as Notre Dame, Ohio State, Auburn, Florida State, USC, Alabama, etc. Some of the players verbalized their commitments to these schools for the first time during half time on national television. Those not committed are still making their decisions while being pursued by D1 colleges. Many of these top ranked players are already be scouted by the NFL and will go on to the pros.

It occurred to me on so many occasions just how lucky these players are. What also often struck me during the week is that based on my familiarity of the football players and athletes from other sports in Plymouth, that there is no reason why any of the Plymouth players who put their mind to it cannot live that same dream. I decided to interview a few of the players and told them that I wanted to share with the players from Plymouth their thoughts on what it took for them to become All Americans, to reach the heights that they have.