Dear Rhode Island,

Please send us your best high school football stars. We would like to play them in an all-star game at Rentschler Field on June 26 at 7 p.m.

Maybe this year we’ll do a better job promoting the game and showcasing the athletes of both teams, and make it worth renting out The Rent. It’s a shame we’ll be putting this game on for a 12th year, do nothing at all to promote it, and wonder why the hell less than 5,000 people showed up.

Oh well, that crowd will probably trump that of the UFL Hartford Colonials on any given night.

Sincerely,

Connecticut

PS: Here’s our roster (with Fairfield County-SWC-SCC-CSC players in bold): Read the full story

Their football careers may be over, but four former FCIAC football players had the honor of playing in the first event at the new Meadowlands Stadium yesterday.

Two of those players, North Carolina attack Jimmy Dunster and Princeton defenseman Jonathan Myers, were teammates at Greenwich. Paul Silverfarb of Greenwich Post was there on the field, so we’ll soon get their reaction to playing in the new home of the NFL’s New York Jets and New York Giants (No rush, Paul, I know you’re a busy man!).

Also playing yesterday: Matt White of Ridgefield, who helped lead No. 1 Virginia past Dunster’s No. 2 North Carolina, and Pat Dowling of Ludlowe, a third-year starting defenseman at Delaware.

The NFL High School Player Development Camp is returning to Fairfield County, and this time will be run at two locations. One camp will be held at Kennedy Stadium in Bridgeport from June 21 to June 25, the other will be held at Boyle Stadium in Stamford from July 11 to July 15. Both camps are free for incoming sophomores, juniors and seniors.

This is a camp that focuses on character development and specific football skill training by position. Through the program, each participant will gain full awareness of what is necessary to become a successful collegiate student-athlete.

The program contains two specific elements – character development and on-field football development. The first day of the program is devoted entirely to the character development portion of the program. Each student-athlete receives a planner, instruction on how to use the planner and explanation of all the elements of the planner. The coaches discuss selected life skills topics in small group sessions using community leaders, such as National Guardsmen as guest speakers.

The following four days allow players to split time focusing on one offensive and one defensive position on the field. Players will participate in a progression of skills to improve their game. Coaches are encouraged to incorporate the life skills during the on-field portion as applicable.

Football University is bringing its camp back to Connecticut for a second-straight year. The invite-only camp will be held June 18-21 at Westhill High School. This is the camp that helped both Stamford linebacker Khairi Fortt and King running back Silas Redd into the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

Players wishing to attend the camp need to register here with the registration code C2GF1. Players can be nominated to participate by a coach or a family member, but space is limited.

It’s not nirvana, but it’s a start. I’ve added some social media features to help transition the FCIAC Football Blog into an online community.

First, I’ve added the Mingle plugin. Basically it means everyone who is a user of the FCIAC Football Blog (418 of you, whether you’re on the up-and-up or one of the cowards) can now log in and friend people like it was Facebook, message each other, and whatnot. Click Login or Register at the top of the blog and check it out.

Second, I’ve brought the Forum back. It didn’t get much traction in 2009, but maybe 2010 will be a different story.

And finally, the Comments section has been replaced with Facebook Connect. You can leave comments on blog posts once you’ve logged in to your Facebook account.

That’s all for now. Give it a spin, check it out and let me know what you think (and if it all works).

Chicks dig guys with skills. Run-blocking skills. Pass-protecting skills. But seriously, the annual Big Skill Clinic will be held at Fairfield Warde on Thursday, July 8.

If you’re a lineman, this is where you want to be to not only go over the fundamentals of line play, but what techniques and drills will help you lead your team to victory.

Let’s face it – the quarterbacks and receivers can light up the scoreboard at the 7-on-7 tournaments. But without solid line play, you won’t have a winning team when it comes time to put on the pads.

To learn more about the one-day clinic, go to the Big Skill Clinic home page.

Did you see this article across the Hearst Connecticut Websites about a proposed football program for junior college students? The Bernie Armstrong-Peter Cox-led Southwestern Connecticut Grizzlies would provide an alternative to college football for players who attend Connecticut junior colleges, without the players losing NCAA eligibility.

The Grizzlies would play a fall schedule in the New England Football League 2, and players must maintain a 2.3 GPA and take at least six credits. Practices will be held three nights a week at Kennedy Stadium in Bridgeport. Read the full story

John Nash of The Hour and Wilton Villager posted this item on my Facebook page. It’s a blog post he wrote about the speculation that the FCIAC Hockey Blog is shutting down.

I’m sure John didn’t need my one extra page view (lol, every little bit helps though!), but sent it to me because it’s an article of interest AND because he made reference to the FCIAC Football Blog. Read the full story