Football University announces the
Michigan Camp Selection Committee

In early October, Football University made the announcement of two Michigan Representatives that will head up the recruitment of 7th-12th grade athletes to participate in their national football camps and all-star games. Rich McGuinness, president of SportsLink, who also created the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, the national high school all-star game televised on NBC, proudly announced the appointment of Tyrone Wheatley, as the Michigan Regional Director and Richard T. Seay, as the Michigan Selection Committee Director.

Over the Thanksgiving Holiday, another major announcement to the team took place.  That being the addition of Mill “The Thrill” Coleman, a former Farmington Hills Harrison High School three time All-State Quarterback, All-American Quarterback and MVP recipient of two state championships. He was selected to Detroit Free Press All-Decade High School Football Team (1980-1990) as the Quarterback. Mill is a former Michigan State University captain, three year starter (quarterback, receiver, running back and punt returner. After attending MSU, Mill went on to play professionally with the Chicago Bears and Montreal Allouttes.

Mill through his own venture operates and owns Mill Coleman Football Fundamentals, a year-round football training program, which focuses on providing camps, clinics and private training for Quaterbacks and Receivers and most recently now includes training for all football positions. Mill Coleman Football will open its indoor football facilitiy at the Michigan State Fairgrounds, this coming February, however camps will begin Dec 29, 2008. The partnership between the two entities allows Football University, year round access to Michigan’s elite football players, while at the same time expands Mill Coleman Football Fundamentals through its partnership beyond the boundaries of the state of Michigan. Mill explains, “I believe that through my program and the kids that I come across in the camps and clinics, we can definitely provide FBU with some elite players that can be considered and even chosen for the youth and high school U.S. Army All-American Bowl,”

McGuinness’s passion became providing high-level instruction to elite football players. Over the past nine years, he has worked with the nation’s top prep athletes at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio. Many of these players dominate their local football scene because they are bigger and faster than the average high school athlete. But when they meet players of equal size and physical ability for the first time in San Antonio, it is eye-opening if not shocking. McGuinness welcomes these athletes by saying, “Welcome to the first day of the rest of your football career—where 4.4 speed and 300-pound linemen are the norm, not the exception.” At this level, the athletes need elite skills—not just impressive physical attributes—to stand out.
By making these additions locally, Brett Cooper, National Director, Football University, says “This will enhance the knowledge and respectability of Football University, its camps and the national games.  These three individuals are people who know care about youth first, have a passion for football second, and are very excited about the roles that they will play with helping young men attain opportunities to achieve to greater level.

Tyrone Wheatley, former NFL Running Back, for the New York Giants and Oakland Raiders, is also a University of Michigan Standout.  Richard T. Seay, is a former School Board President of the Pontiac School District, and served through that capacity on many state and national committees.  Their responsibilities will involve locating and identifying talent; evaluating the talent; providing recommendations and nominations to the national team for Michigan athletes to participate in the camp or all-star game.

June 15, 2008
Section: CFP; COMMUNITY FREE PRESS
Edition: METRO FINAL
Page: 4CJ

PRO TRAINING:

Mill Coleman of Farmington Hills works out with Birmingham Detroit Country Day quarterback Brett Gardner, 15,
of Northville on Tuesday at Coleman's training facility inside the Michigan State Fairgrounds.

HARRISON GRID GREAT ADDS INDOOR FACILITY TO TRAINING PROGRAM CHRIS LAU Free Press sports writer      Craig Sacha started working out with Mill Coleman as a freshman.      "We would go to the gym, and he'd set up cones, and we'd do lots of quarterback drills," said Sacha, the recently-graduated Farmington Hills Harrison quarterback, about his position coach. "He is always pushing me. He'd call me on a Saturday morning and ask if I wanted to throw the football around."      As a senior, Sacha threw for 1,875 yards and 16 touchdowns, and the Hawks went 9-3. As a junior, he threw for 2,707 yards and 35 touchdowns, and led the team to the Division 3 state final. Sacha, who is currently mulling baseball offers from Henry Ford Community College in Dearborn and Grand Rapids Community College, isn't the only area quarterback who has benefited from Coleman's assistance.      Coleman is a former Harrison and Michigan State star and NFL and Canadian Football League quarterback. Since his retirement from pro football in 1999, he has coached the quarterbacks at Harrison and, on the side, run youth football camps and worked one-on-one with quarterbacks and receivers.      In 2006, he opened Mill Coleman Football Fundamentals and his clients included Sacha, Troy quarterback Branko Hamilton, Orchard Lake St. Mary's quarterback Robert Bolden and Lake Orion quarterback Chris Lum, all of whom have had notable high school careers.      On May 29, Coleman opened up an indoor facility at the Michigan State Fairgrounds, complete with a 50-yard turf field, cones, agility tools, targets and a video system.      For the 35-year-old husband and father of three from Farmington Hills, opening up a permanent facility was a dream come true. Before, he'd run his sessions at rented space.      "This man has a love for football," Harrison coach John Herrington said. "This is one way he felt he could give back	Former NFL and Harrison High quarterback Mill Coleman at his new facility in Detroit.      Coleman played three years of football at Harrison (1987-89) and led the team to state titles in 1988 and 1989. He played four years at MSU, starting his final three. He played two years for the Chicago Bears and two more for the CFL's Montreal Alouettes, where he started until he injured his left knee in 1998, ending his career.      He has one of the few football-only academies in Michigan. He has hired former Lion safety Ron Rice as an instructor.      Right now, Coleman will primarily work with quarterbacks and receivers, and Rice with the defensive backs. Eventually, Coleman aspires to grow the academy to suit the other positions as well.      "Everything we do goes hand-in-hand, and everything he does complements what I do," said Rice, 35, who has resided in Southfield since his retirement from the NFL in 2002.	Coleman and Gardner work out. "It's a good thing," said Coleman of finally getting his own training building. Post-NFL, Coleman has been training area athletes for the last six years.
		"When we do wide receiver training, we also teach them what to expect from the defensive backs, and vice versa," Rice continued. "And at the quarterback position, it's very important to be able to read the defense. The more football knowledge you have, the better you'll be overall."      Coleman, who works as a district manager for AIG Retirement, said he focuses on fundamentals, accuracy, position-specific conditioning, leadership and work ethic.      "You are going to get pushed to work hard," he said. "No one is going to let you come and waste your money. You are going to feel like you worked out." _________________________________ Contact CHRIS LAU at 248-351-3688 or clau@freepress.com.
		Mill's Football Fundamentals Based out of the Michigan Mart building at the Michigan State Fairgrounds, 1120 W. State Fair, Detroit. Private sessions range from $50 to $100 an hour, depending on the program. Camps range from $75 to $300. Programs are available for middle- and high-school-aged players. Information: Visit www.millcolemanfootball.com or call Coleman at 248-790-4064.

Mill Coleman
The Football Fundamentalist

It takes a special breed to run around in a bunch of padding in the late summer months, running routes and practicing your footwork, all the while feeling the sun penetrate through your gear, cooking your skin, knowing that tomorrow you will have to do it all over again. This is what players live for. It’s not some type of irreversible damage done to their frontal lobe or to their medulla oblongata; it’s in their blood.

Mill “The Thrill” Coleman is one of these people. Despite having a day job as a district manager for AIG Retirement, Coleman coaches the quarterbacks at his alma mater Harrison High School in Farmington Hills and runs his own football camp at the State Fair Grounds in Detroit. While his days may revolve around retirement planning, his evening and weekends are all football. “Mill Coleman Football Fundamentals is an organization that I built. Right now, we train quarterbacks and receivers,” says Coleman of his camp. But there are plans to expand the camp to include all other positions. “Ron Rice, who’s a former Detroit Lion and who has roots in Detroit, is working with me to develop the defensive back program,” Coleman added.

Born in Albion, Coleman had a stellar career at Michigan State, played for two years with the Chicago Bears, and then another two years with the Canadian Football League’s Montreal Allouttes, before sustaining a horrific leg injury that promptly ended his playing days. “I tore my ACL, LCL and PCL … I knew it was probably time to move on,” Coleman said.

When a friend suggested running a football camp, Coleman initially rejected the idea, but later came around, remarking that he felt he “still had a lot left in the tank.” He also liked the idea of teaching kids. “It was a way for me to stay involved,” Coleman said. The MCFF offers position-specific camps and a youth fundamental camp (which is all positions), as well as individual lessons and video analysis. When explaining the differences between these camps, Coleman said, “Some camps we work them hard and some camps are more laidback and instructional. Some focus on speed, agility and conditioning — some just focus on fundamentals.” Having just recently opened his own indoor facility, Coleman is confident that his camp is leaps and bounds beyond would-be competitors, if not because of the clear cut advantage of being able to work indoors during the winter months, then because of the experienced coaching he brings into the camps. Coleman said, “We have some top-notch coaching, whether it’s high school coaches or guys that played professional ball.”

With the help of guys like current Detroit Lion and former MSU QB Drew Stanton, and Ron Rice, Coleman has set up a camp that is bound to flourish. While his playing days are over, he won’t let any regular nine-to-five stop him from getting his “fix for football.” It's more than just another job, it’s his way of life.  | RDW