Camp Exposure announced its fourth annual Educational Football Camp, a three-day exclusive overnight camp designed to empower participants in their personal and professional growth, enabling them to explore their identity, purpose, and worth beyond the realm of sports. Once again, the event will be powered by Vista Bank, held at Highland Park High School, and feature Camp Exposure’s Sunday Family Day, including “Camp Exposure Kids Camp” and the anticipated 2023 Career Fair.
Targeting under-represented Dallas-area high school athletes, Camp Exposure helps invitees succeed in their athletic careers by offering professional training, tips, and strategies from NFL veterans and trainers while providing executive coaching for success in multiple areas of life. Over three days, high-level executives and expert speakers lead workshops and round table discussions surrounding Camp Exposure’s seven pillars: Identity, Mental and Spiritual Health, Nutrition & Wellness, Relationship Skills, Professional Development, Financial Literacy, and The Business of the Game.
For the first time, Camp Exposure has partnered with Reveal Suits to provide each athlete with a custom suit to be professionally prepared for the 2023 Career Fair and future campus visits and interviews. The Career Fair will consist of businesses across the DFW metroplex that have committed to providing guidance and mentorship to these young professionals and an opportunity to practice their skills to make an excellent first impression on potential employers.
Camp Exposure Founder and President Tyler Patmon noted that 2023 marks the launch of Camp Exposure Academy (CEA), a 1 to 3-year extensive program where high school athletes can attend monthly mentorship sessions to discover, outline, and develop a plan for life after sports.
“For the first time since God gave us the vision for serving these young athletes, we are excited to look beyond the three-day intensive camp to a broader long-term impact on these students by mentoring them during a season of life when they are discovering their identity and making significant decisions,” noted Patmon.
“We have always been incredibly impressed by the vision and leadership of Camp Exposure’s three founders,” added Vista Bank CEO John D. Steinmetz regarding Tyler Patmon, Lubbock Smith III, and Jeremiah Hatch. “In fact, so much so that we hired one of them, Lubbock Smith, to further our mission of expanding financial literacy throughout the communities we have the opportunity to serve. That said, when Highland Park Athletics stepped up and offered their facilities to Camp Exposure, I saw South Dallas and Highland Park coming together to change the trajectory of these talented young athletes, their families, and entire underserved communities.”
Camp Exposure has a packed lineup of speakers for the three-day intensive. Highlights of the camp schedule include a Relationship Skills and Professional Development workshop led by Will Baggett from Executive Image as well as both a Mental Health workshop led by Kaniel Purifoy from Ouachita University and a Financial Literacy panel featuring Lubbock Smith III of Vista Bank, Rosco Graves the Managing Director at Polaxis, Leslie White the Finance Senior Director at PepsiCo, and Carrington Byndom a Wealth Professional of Equitable Advisors. Camp Exposure Vice President Tiffany Patmon will lead another Business Panel featuring Former NFL athlete, author, and keynote speaker Shamiel Gray, former NFL athlete and founder and CEO of Sozo Farms Aaron Colvin, former NFL athlete and licensed realtor Steven Terrell, and NFL agent and attorney Walter Musgrove.
The camp will also feature a workshop on Nutrition & Wellness led by the Director of Nutrition at SMU, Madison Troyer. Throughout the three-day weekend, Camp Exposure athletes will be led in daily morning and evening devotionals by Sugarcreek Missouri City pastor Xavier Maryland.
Access to the camp on Friday and Saturday is by invitation only, while Sunday will be open to the public free of charge. In addition to Camp Exposure’s development of high school athletes, Sunday’s “Kids Camp” will offer the next generation of athletes a chance to learn and grow. This free camp occurs from 12:30 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. at the Highland Park Indoor Facility, and registration is currently open. Food, festivities, and fun are available for players and their families on Sunday, with a thrilling 7-on-7 tournament at Highland Park High School’s Highlander Stadium to close the camp.