A Look Back at 2013

We set our goals high for 2013, and it turned out to be an incredibly busy and successful year for the Sanford Power-Riggs Premier Football Academy. We celebrated our grand opening first year anniversary in September, 2013, and the year was filled with great stories, performances, and accomplishments. Some of the highlights of 2013:

Dale Moss was one of the first athletes to train with us, and he now coaches wide receivers at the Academy and signed on to offer an annual WR Clinic for area athletes. We hosted the clinic in March, and had 200 athletes from 3rd grade-college attend. It was a tremendous success, and we are looking forward to Coach Moss' continued involvement with our training sessions and his clinic.




During 2013, we assembled a top-notch group of coaches at every position, and put together a Think Football program to offer 12 camps, clinics and 7 on 7 tourneys to area athletes during the traditional off season. By bringing together excellent coaching, the state-of-the-art Fieldhouse, and a variety of training options for area athletes, we believe we have started to change the culture of football in SD. We saw over 800 athletes take advantage of our training options in 2013, and it was exciting to see so many kids working hard to learn and improve their skills!


We also teamed up with SD Junior Football to offer the first ever full-contact camp for kids in the area and to help bring Heads Up Football and a 'better, safer game' to young athletes. Over 250 kids participated in the SD Junior Football Camp, and our coaches worked extensively with athletes and their coaches throughout the summer and fall to ensure proper training in football fundamentals.

The 7 on 7 format has been widely utilized in other states to develop individual skills and a team's passing game, but it hadn't been used in this area. We ran a series of competitive tournaments in 2013 for elementary, middle, and high school athletes, and also developed our Premier Passing program, a non-competitive, skill-building program for area high school athletes. All four of the semi-finalist teams in this year's 11AAA tournament participated in the Premier Passing program, and we hope to build on that success in 2014.

One of the values we have tried very hard to instill in our athletes is a focus not just on physical skills, but on sportsmanship, and being part of the greater community. To help emphasize the importance of that, our coaches, athletes, and families came together and ran as a team in the Susan G. Komen SD Race for the Cure in September. It was a tremendous experience to be part of this community event, and we intend to field a team every year! Our team members had a great time, and we will be continuing our focus on sportsmanship and community involvement in 2014.

2013 also saw further development of the Sanford Sports Complex and emphasis on providing big league opportunities to area athletes. We were able to have over 100 of our athletes meet several Minnesota Vikings players in October, and the Pentagon's opening has brought big events and additional focus on Sanford's sports medicine program. I feel very fortunate to be partnered with Sanford with their clear commitment to providing quality programs, facilities, and opportunities for area athletes.

Over the past year, we have built great relationships with the athletes and families who are part of the Academy, and I feel extremely lucky to have surrounded myself with top caliber people in every facet of the program. The Academy is enjoying tremendous success because of the people who are involved at every level, and 2013 demonstrated how fortunate we are to have deeply committed staff and families working together.

What will we do to build on the successes of 2013? We will be offering another series of camps, clinics, and 7 on 7 tourneys in 2014, along with our Premier Passing program and a Recruiting Combine in May. We are partnering with Special Olympics SD to bring 'All Champs Camp' to area athletes and allow athletes with and without disabilities to share their love of football. We will be expanding our camp offerings in the area, and we will continue to provide the best coaches, the best facility, and the best training options for area athletes.

Stay tuned for another exciting year, and we hope you will join us at the Fieldhouse in 2014!

2012: A Year in Review

Chicago Bears WR Dale Moss

When the ball dropped on 2011, I'm not sure I had any idea how different things would be one year later. This year saw the launch of Riggs Premier Football and the creation of the Sanford POWER Football Academy. It has been a challenging and rewarding venture, and it is fun to look back at how far we have come!

I have been asked frequently over the years to train football players, and the demand for off season training is at an all time high. Watching my son play youth football convinced me I could contribute to instilling fundamentals for young athletes and find opportunities to work with higher caliber athletes as well.

When we launched the program in July, the Fieldhouse was still under construction, so we started trainings at the USF Sports Complex in the intense summer heat. We started off with five clients and also had a unique opportunity to work with Dale Moss right before he headed to the NFL. It was really awesome to see how the training could benefit athletes who were 8 years old all the way up to the pros! 

Will and Coach Sanders

The Fieldhouse opened on September 4th, and after training during the very hot summer, that was a welcome event! The Fieldhouse is a remarkable facility, and it is great to have a partner like Sanford that shares common goals for local athletes and develops the facilities to back up those goals. The Fieldhouse is essentially a NFL training facility and gives our athletes the very best opportunities in this area to train.

We hosted a community Grand Opening event at the Fieldhouse for around 200 kids in late September, spent a lot of time talking with parents and athletes at FCA and Junior Football games, and basically started telling people what the Sanford POWER Football Academy offers. Our client numbers continue to grow, we have fine tuned our program offerings to meet client needs, and we just hosted a first of its kind Holiday Camp event this past week. We brought in 150 athletes, ages third grade through high school, and ran two days of camps and passing tournaments. It was really tremendous to see so many young athletes coming in to compete and work their craft in the winter months! 

BVHS and LHS in 7 on 7 Holiday Passing Tourney

As I reflect on 2012, I have been very fortunate to have surrounded myself with talented people. This is not something I can do alone, and I have excellent coaches and assistants who are key to delivering the very best product to our clients. It is also a privilege to work with athletes who are very committed to getting better, and families who share a passion for football and want their kids to learn the "right way" to play 

the game. When we combine all those qualities, we are seeing great results all the way around!

So what does 2013 have in store? We will be continuing our 7 on 7 competitions, we will be hosting both full contact and non-contact camps this summer, we hope to develop satellite workouts in the area, and of course, we will maximize our individual and small group trainings at the Fieldhouse.

Thanks to all who have been part of the 2012 journey. We look forward to even better things in 2013!