Dear Parent, Coach or Player:

The countdown to 2009 PICO & Big Man Football Camps has begun!! We are now officially 33 days out·.

Get your player ready to play football this fall. There is so much emphasis placed on off-season workouts these days, because during the football season coaches are faced with challenges such as time and daylight savings that become obstacles in teaching each player sound techniques and fundamentals. That’s where the PICO camps step in. We provide conditioning plus fundamentals training. Here is a breakdown of PICO’s Football camps this summer:
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Our campers are willing and eager to learned. The drills we are working on at ST Big Man is advanced, technical and sound than what they learned or used in the past. I’m amazed however with how quickly they picked it up. These training did not come along for Ina and I until we got to college. They are learning new techniques in pass rush, stopping the run, run blitz/coverage, drive block, pass protections, ankle tackles, ankle pursue, LB reads/ coverage and more…. So they are ahead of the curve as far as skill development.
Today, we had Aleki Pascua, the offensive line coach for Portland State as our guest speaker. He talked about the importance of being a student-athlete at the college level. The kids really liked him.
Thursday is our last day and we have our campus tour at PSU starting at 1:30 and ends at 2:30 pm. I told the kids to bring their lunch and water tomorrow. We will eat lunch at the track at 12:00 pm. Ina and I will transport the campers to campus to start our tour at 1:30 pm. Please pick up your child at the PSU gym (drop-off) at 2:45 pm. You do not have to park.
We will be conducting football clinic this fall, and in addition to that will be SPARQ training. So sign up as soon as you receive the annoucement on your email. Furthermore, PICO is putting on a basketball camp at Fernwood MS. Part of the proceed goes toward the Children Cancer Association and the Freddy Jones Foundation. The two foundations helps a lot families and the community at large in so many ways, and it’s my wife and I way of saying thank you for all your work and commitment to help those who needs help most.

Thanks, Ace.

What a week for PICO campers! The campers met and made new friends, listened to inspirational speakers, coached by college and profesional athletes, and mastered the art of ‘Haka’ all in one week. I would like to thank all our sponsors, volunteers and parents for helping making this event a success. A special thanks to Mayor Tom Potter for taking the time out to talked to our campers about the importance of education, and reminding campers to remember where they come from (Remember Your Roots) and don’t ever lose sight of that. A shout out to one of coaches, Condrew Allen for his quest of making the Green Bay Packer’s roster this summer.
PICO camps and clinics has the Salu-Talalemotu BIG MAN CAMP next week at Duniway Park/ track. It is open and available for 30 players. So sign up quickly. Our main feature for ST Big Man is the campus tour and portland state football tickets for their home opener in August against Western Oregon. The Point Guard camp coming in August will fill quickly so start registering to reserve your spot. Invitation went out to AAU Team Jones will be in attendance. Keep in touch and take care, Ace.

Mayor Potter Speaks at the Pacific Islands Council of Oregon Football Camp

Portland, Ore.–Mayor Potter will speak at the Pacific Islands Council of Oregon’s (PICO) Football Camp on the importance of education to youth ages 9 through 14. PICO is a Portland-based organization that utilizes sports as a tool to educate, teach and mentor youth. Through PICO’s camps and trainings, youth not only learn basic sports fundamentals and techniques, but also rediscover their family values.

PICO supports Pacific Islanders/American families and communities of Oregon to enable them to empower and advocate for themselves in order to preserve and promote their heritage, and in all ways prosper through social, economic and political opportunities.

WHAT:
Mayor Potter speaks to PICO Football Camper of the importance of education

WHEN:
Friday, July 11, 2008

TIME:
12:20 p.m. – 12:45 p.m.

WHERE:
Central Catholic High School Football Field
(SE 26th and SE Stark)

WHO:
• PICO Football Camp youth participants and staff
• Mayor Potter

PICO campers are having tons of fun going through the SPARQ training in the am. This is a safe and efficient way to warm-up athletes before workouts or games. It helps improve their speed, reaction time, quickness and agility. A traditional or standard warmups in football does not have the same effects on muscles, flexibility, balance and coordination that SPARQ training offers or provides.
The highlight of course the ‘haka’ which is very popular among our campers. They have lots of fun learning it. One of our Coaches; Ronnie Faivae who is currently playing Linebacker for Portland State is their “fearless” leader .
Guest speakers has been very inspirational. On Monday, Dion Jordan, a motivational speaker and author kicked off our camp with some word of encouragement to the kids that they can be whatever they want to be if they believe in themselves. Coach Steve Pyne came through Tuesday and spoke to the kids about being a student-athlete at Central Catholic High School. Today, one of our Coaches, Condrew Allen spoke to our campers about his struggles through college and on the football field. At one point, he thought about quiting, but his mother, friends and family kept encouraging him to work hard and realize his dream to play in the NFL. Condrew is leaving tomorrow to report to Green Bay for training. He signed a three year deal as a free agent for the Packers. Condrew, the kids and the coaches are behind you all the way. Good luck and we will see you next year. Go Packers! To see Condrew’s press release go to :http://www.packers.com/news/releases/2008/05/07/3/

PICO campers, the weather is going to be hot in the upper 80’s. Parents needs to apply sunscreen on their child before coming out. Also, please remember to bring a water bottle. It is a good idea to put your name on your water bottle.
Campers need to wear athletic type clothings i.e shorts, jerseys, t-shirts. Definitely NO JEANS. The football field is grass turf so wear football cleats, no metal spikes.
We have so much to do so we will start right @ noon and finish at 3:00pm.
Please feel free to contact me on email or phone (503) 680-1905 if you have any questions. A couple more reminders, don’t forget to drink plenty of water and and get rested/sleep the day before. It will help you stay hydrated and focus a little bit more during drills. Also, there is still room available for camp if you want to invite a friend or teammates.

See you on the field, Ace.

Dear Coaches/ Athletic Directors and parents,

My name is Ace Salu. I’m the Camp director and CEO of Pacific Island Council of Oregon (PICO). PICO is an organization that utilizes sports as a tool to support youth to become successful in life. I’m writing this letter to inform you of the great opportunity available this summer through PICO trainings. We are conducting the Salu-Talalemotu 1st annual Big Man (STBMC) camp for middle school football players. This will be a 4 days camp that will focus on advanced training and techniques for offensive, defensive lineman and linebackers.
Yes, there are other camps out there that do the same thing. But at STBMC, you get something unique and different.

Players will have more one on one time with the coaches. STBMC coaches are some of the best collegiate and professional players that have played the position. Their knowledge and experience of these positions will provide players with great insights to acquired and maintain the skills, improve their speed and techniques, allowing them to compete at a higher level in the upcoming season. We know that team coaches in the Fall have very limited time to work with and hone each player’s skills and techniques. Let alone, they have limited amount of hours for practice. Its how they spent their time in their workouts is where they develop and acquire skills and techniques for football.

Player will also spend more time doing repetitions than standing in line. You know and I know that repetitions are the key to enhancing an athlete’s performance. The more repetition a player received, the more their technique becomes routine, due to their continued training that eventually evolves into muscle memory.

Another feature of STBMC is our reinforcement of the importance of being a student-athlete. As part of camp, we incorporate the importance of secondary education. With the permission of parents, we will take our student-athletes to Portland State University to tour the campuses. Our campers will have the opportunity to meet with academic counselors, and tour the athletic department with PSU football coaches. Although it might be too early to think about college, my goal is exposed our campers to campus life, and reiterate that is important to be a student first and foremost.

The cost of camp is $100.00 per player, and the group rate is $350.00 for a group of 5. A saving of $200.00 if you are registering as a group/ team. To register online go to: http://www.picocamp.com/

Have a great summer,

Ace Salu

We are just one week out from the PICO 10th annual Football camp at Central High School football field. I’m excited that this year we have brought in students from Portland State University polynesian club to teach our student-athletes the Haka warrior chant. The Haka chant originated out of New Zealand by the Maori tribe as a way to summoned the war ‘gods’ before they go into battle. A rugby team known as the ‘Manu Samoa” and other all black team quickly adopted this ritual as a way to summon strength and to strike fear in their opponent’s heart before a game. Today, the Haka is performed everywhere from the pros to college, all the way to the high school level. PICO camp is the first of it’s kind to featured the Haka chant. It is our way of reinforcing family values, celebrating culture and diversity to our campers and your future leaders of tomorrow. In addition to that, Steve Pyne the head football coach at Central Catholic HS will make a special appearance, along with some current players from his varsity squad.
Thank you, Ace Salu.

Good morning everyone,

I have been receiving calls from parents regarding PICO Instructional Football camp and basically what I can say it’s a great camp for beginners and advanced players. These campers will have the opportunity to learn the skills and techniques on playing different position regardless of their size, weight , preference and so forth. We give a kid a glimpse of what it takes to play a position and have them decide if it something they would like to pursue as they progress throughout their playing career. It is never too late to learn or play a different position.

Thank you for your question and feedbacks, and feel free to call and let me know how can we best serve your child when they come through PICO sports training, camps and clinics.

We will be posting news, wrap-ups and other interesting things here in the future. Feel free to comment on our postings!

Visit our main site at www.PICOcamp.com for more information on our current 2008 offerings.

Have a great day,
Ace Salu