West Chester University West Chester, Pennsylvania
Entering our 37th summer in business, Contact Football Camps are known worldwide and have been called the finest instructional football camps in the United States by coaches, Pros and the media.
Directing the camp is Head Football Coach at West Chester University, Bill Zwaan. Bill Zwaan enters his ninth season as head coach of the Golden Rams, having put together one of the most impressive coaching resume’s in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference during that span.
Highlights Include
- Individual Camp ages 8-18
- Grouping by age, weight and ability
- Contact Drills and Scrimmages
- Contact Football Camp T-shirt and Prizes
- Great exposure to college coaches
- Daily training to develop speed, strength and agility
West Chester University utilizes nine top-notch facilities for its 24 intercollegiate athletic programs. From state-of-the-art upgrades to the school’s football field, which doubles as home to the men’s and women’s outdoor track & field squads, to the traditional surroundings of Hollinger Field House nestled in the hub of North Campus, West Chester has played host to NCAA championship events, regional finals and conference titles.
Camp Director
Bill Zwaan
Zwaan has won three PSAC Eastern Division titles (2004, 2007 and 2008) while copping Coach of the Year plaudits each time. He has guided the Golden Rams to the NCAA II playoffs in five of his previous eight campaigns along the school’s sideline while authoring the third-most wins in school history and steering the institution to the national semifinals for the very first time in just his second year at the helm.
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In eight years on West Chester’s sideline, Zwaan has masterminded a 65-33 (.663) record.He sports an overall record of 119-47 (.717) in 14 years. His 65 victories at West Chester University is third all-time on the school’s charts while his .663 winning percentage ranks sixth all-time at the institution among coaches who spent at least three years in that position.
Zwaan’s patented Spread Wing-T offense has averaged better than 400 yards of total offense per game in seven of his eight years at WCU and has scored at least 50 touchdowns per year in his first six campaigns.
The 14-year college football mentor collected his 100th career win against Lock Haven in the 2008 season opener and is one of only a handful of college coaches to lead a school to the NCAA Tournament semifinals at both the Division II and III levels, having guided West Chester to the Division II semifinals in 2004 and Widener University to the Division III semifinals in 2000.
Coach
Gerald Toney
Gerald Toney begins his 18th year as an assistant coach at his alma mater with a promotion to assistant head coach. Toney had served as the team’s offensive coordinator the previous three seasons helping head coach Bill Zwaan orchestrate the complex Spread Wing-T offense. This fall, Toney will coach the special teams unit and the defensive backs in addition to his assistant head coaching duties.
Last season, Toney oversaw the conference’s sixth-ranked offense, which averaged 372 yards per game and scored 39 touchdowns. The Golden Rams’ offense ranked among the top six in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference in each of his three years as offensive coordinator. He was instrumental in the development of first team All-PSAC wide receiver Dan DePalma, who caught 50 passes for 962 yards and nine TDs.
Toney’s first campaign as offensive coordinator (2008) was very successful as WCU authored the league’s fourth-best offense overall and its second-best passing offense. West Chester averaged 425 yards of total offense per game last season, including 273 yards through the air. West Chester ranked fourth in the PSAC in scoring with a 34.5 points per game average as well.
Mike Furlong
Mike Furlong returns for his 22nd season on West Chester’s sideline this fall in his familiar role as the Golden Rams’ defensive coordinator for the 19th consecutive year.
Furlong’s other duties shifted slightly last season as the veteran mentor slid over to tutor the defensive backs after nearly two decades of overseeing the team’s linebackers. This fall, Zwaan has returned Furlong to his linebacking duties where he will mentor the outside ‘backers.
In 2009, Furlong put together the top-ranked defense in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, highlighted by the group’s stinginess in the running game. West Chester allowed just 77 yards rushing on average per game, holding some of the conference’s top tailbacks to under 100 yards. The Golden Rams ranked second in the conference in scoring defense, yielding just 17 points per contest as well. West Chester’s four starting linebackers were widely considered the best unit in the conference with both Mike Dell and Sam Scott earning a spot in the Valero Cactus Bowl – a Division II all-star bowl game – in January 2009. Scott was named defensive MVP in that tilt, tying a Cactus Bowl record for tackles with 14.
Assistant Coach
Bill Zwaan Jr.
Bill Zwaan Jr., returns to his alma mater after one year at nearby Widener University in Chester, Pa., where he is re-joined with his father, Bill Zwaan Sr., on the Golden Rams’ sideline.
The 2008 graduate of West Chester University also spent a year at Lycoming College, getting a taste for coaching at the college level, and now enters his third year overall as a college football assistant coach.
His father has put him in charge of the wide receivers while also giving his old man assistance in coaching the quarterbacks. The younger Zwaan ran his father’s Spread Wing-T offense to near perfection during a four-year playing career at West Chester University. Now, he must learn how to impart that knowledge on a group of very young quarterbacks to keep the Rams near the top of the Eastern Division of the PSAC.
One of the school’s all-time great signal callers, Zwaan ranks fifth all-time in school history in career passing yards (6,298) and touchdown passes (65) while placing sixth in both career pass attempts (655) and completions (378). He holds the school record for most consecutive games with at least one TD pass (17). He is one of only five former WCU quarterbacks to throw for more than 6,000 yards and 60 touchdowns in a career.
Assistant Coach
Chris Bantell
Chris Bantell enters his second season as an assistant coach at his alma mater. He will assist with the defensive backs for the Golden Rams again this fall. Bantell is in his second stint with the Golden Rams. He volunteered his time as an undergraduate assistant at West Chester University in the spring of 2008, before being hired as a graduate assistant at Widener University.
Bantell made the move back to West Chester from Widener where he mentored the linebackers while working on his master’s degree in Liberal Arts with a concentration in Education.
Bantell earned his bachelor’s degree in Professional Studies from West Chester University in 2009 with a minor in Athletic Coaching and Communications.
Assistant Coach
Jim Brazill Sr.
Jim Brazill Sr., enters his seventh season at his alma mater as an assistant coach for the West Chester University Golden Rams. He remains in his usual role as the team’s strength and conditioning coach while also tutoring the inside linebackers for the sixth straight year at West Chester.
Brazill spent one year with the team’s running backs last fall, but is back home where he is most comfortable mentoring the linebackers.
A 1975 graduate of West Chester University, Brazill holds both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Physical Education from the university. He was a linebacker for the Golden Rams during his undergraduate years in the mid 1970s for legendary head coach John Furlow.
Brazill will begin his 36th year of teaching at Salesianum (Del.) High School this fall and had spent nearly three decades on the coaching staff at that institution before jumping on board at West Chester University where both of his sons (Jim Jr. and Mike attended and played on the football team). He served for 11 years as the head coach, taking his team to the Delaware High School state championship in 1993.
Assistant Coach
Jim Brazill Jr.
Jim Brazill Jr., enters his sixth season at his alma mater alongside his father, Jim, taking on the duties of mentoring the Golden Rams’ tight ends, along with the offensive guards. Brazill spent his first three years with the offensive line as well as helping with recruiting and video responsibilities.
Brazill coached one of the top tight ends in the PSAC as well as the Northeast Region in Ryan Paulson, who led all conference tight ends in receiving yards and catches last fall. Paulson was an all-league and all-region pick for his efforts in 2008 and again in 2009.
The younger Brazill now accepts the challenge of tutoring a capable replacement for Paulson in head coach Bill Zwaan’s Spread Wing-T offense. He will have a young, but very talented, group of tight ends to bring along.
Assistant Coach
Brian Kelly
Brian Kelley enters his second season of intercollegiate coaching as an assistant on head coach Bill Zwaan’s staff, helping out with the defensive line, following a year with the inside linebackers in 2010. No stranger to the Golden Rams, Kelley has been around West Chester University’s football program for the last six years, volunteering his time during spring drills since 2005.
Kelley is a 10-year veteran of coaching, spending his first eight seasons on the high school level at Unionville High School where he has served as both the defensive coordinator and special teams coach since 2002. He also helped coach in the Valor Bowl – a Chester County high school senior all-star game – from 2003 to 2005.
Assistant Coach
Jo Jo Patrick
JoJo Patrick begins his second season at West Chester University as an assistant coach, helping out with the offensive line. He comes to the Golden Rams’ program from nearby Widener University where he spent 2009 as an assistant coach with the Pride.
Patrick mentored the defensive line at Widener and spent two seasons at Valley Forge Military College before that, working with the special teams unit. He also gained experience working with linebackers as well as strength & conditioning while at Valley Forge.
Patrick is in the midst of his third season of coaching at the four-year intercollegiate level. His knowledge and expertise will be put to good use with a very experienced and talented offensive line. Patrick will assist current offensive line coach Nick Sama with the development of that unit again in 2011.
Assistant Coach
NIck Sama
Nick Sama enters his ninth season with West Chester University. The veteran mentor will again coach the offensive line. Sama followed Bill Zwaan from Widener University to West Chester University in 2003. The two have spent the last nine campaigns together on the same staff.
Sama has tutored an offensive line unit that started three red-shirt freshmen in 2008 into one of the top offensive lines in the PSAC. His efforts in molding the Golden Rams’ front wall are sometimes overlooked. However, West Chester’s offensive line was a big reason the Golden Rams ranked second in the PSAC in passing and third overall in total offense in 2009.
While at Widener, Sama coached the offensive line for 19 years in the highly regarded Middle Atlantic Conference, winning nine championships. He also has coached in several Eastern College Athletic Conference and NCAA Division III playoff games while his tutoring has produced numerous all-conference and All-America linemen.
Contact Football Camps feature full contact drills and scrimmages with a staff of major college coaches and players. At camps "contact" is introduced in a slow, gradual progression before any actual "contact" is initiated. Campers are divided according to age, weight and ability.
The instruction (3 times a day) stresses both individual positions and team play with every camper. Thousands of our previous football campers played, or are now playing college football (many at schools represented by our coaching staff).
Rental Equipment
Campers need a full set of football equipment - helmet, shoulder pads, two jerseys (one light/one dark), pants and pads, football shoes (NO metal-tip cleats), athletic supporter, cup and mouthpiece. For campers without equipment, Contact Football Camp has equipment for rent prior to camp at $80 per set (helmet, shoulder pads, pants and pads) and $90 per set if rented on the first day of camp. Individual pieces of equipment are available at $40 per item.
HALF DAY MORNING SPECIALTY CLINIC - 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. (first morning) - $135
Quarterbacks – Personalized attention and instruction by our quarterback coaches. The focus of the instruction includes the following: leadership, passing techniques, drop-backs, quickness, footwork, speed and agility, ball handling, hand-offs, pitches and options, passing techniques, sprint-outs, bootlegs, rollouts and play-action, passing drills, grip, QB/center exchange, pivots, sprint-draw and play-action pass, progression for finding the open receiver, mental and physical preparation for playing QB, warm-up drills, reading coverages, secondary pressure, and audibles.
Wide Receivers - Personalized attention and instruction by our receiver coaches. The focus of the instruction includes the following: reading coverages, correct pass routes, working back to the ball, catching the ball at the highest point, catching the ball, following the ball to the hands, speed control, how to get open, spotting defensive coverages (man-to-man, zone and combinations), running drills, receiver drills, stance, release, patterns: out, post, hook, curl, post/corner, fade, in, fly, cross, etc.
Defensive Backs - Goals of the camp will be to teach fundamental skills, techniques, and reads needed to be a successful defensive back at all levels. Different defenses will be highlighted. The skills covered will include stance and starts, footwork, tackling, run/pass recognition, read and react, and secondary coverage.
HALF DAY MORNING SPECIALTY CLINIC - 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. (first morning) - $135, must sign up seprately for this progam!!!
Sample Daily Schedule
- Day 1
- 8:45 a.m. Clinic Campers Check In Only.
- 12:30 p.m. All Skills Camp Check In/Orientation/Rules.
- 2:00 p.m. Regular Camp Schedule.
- Days 2-4
- 7:15 a.m. Stretch/Run.
- 7:30 a.m. Breakfast
- 9:00 a.m. Practice #1, Offense Emphasis.
- 11:30 a.m. Lunch/Free Time.
- 2:00 p.m. Practice #2, Defense Emphasis.
- 4:00 p.m. Day Campers Depart.
- 4:45 p.m. Dinner/Free Time.
- 6:45 p.m. Practice #3, Competition.
- 8:15 p.m. Evening Activities, Meetings, Speakers.
- 9:00 p.m. Extended Day Campers Depart.
- 10:00 p.m. Lights Out
- Day 5
- 7:15 a.m. Stretch/Run.
- 7:30 a.m. Breakfast, Warm Up, Drill ReCap.
- 9:00 a.m. Final Games
- 12:00 p.m. Camp Check Out
Week Long Camp Check In: - Sunday 12:00 p.m.-1:30 p.m. for the All Skills Camp at the West Chester College Dorms. Opening Ceremony will be on the Farrell Football field at 1:30 and the first practice (full gear) will begin immediately following around 2:00 p.m. Parents are invited to watch.
Morning Clinic Check In: 8:45 a.m. on first day of camp at Farrell Football Field. Clinic will end at 12:00 p.m.
Graduation: Campers scrimmage in the morning on the last day of camp, beginning with the youngest campers. Youngest campers will be ready to check out by 11:00 a.m. and all campers should be finished and checked out by 12 p.m. Parents are encouraged to attend the final scrimmages!
Read camper reviews
Great Coach to Player Ratio
The coach to player ratio exceeded my expectations. It allowed more reps as well as individual attention to improve my technique at my position. The coaching staff was very knowledgeable and professional. It was rare to have so many Head Coaches of football programs participate in a football camp.
I Learned So Much!
I had a great time! I played the offensive and defensive positions that I wanted. Thank you! The coaches seemed tough at first, but in the end I learned so much. I really appreciate the time the coaches spent with me! I met new friends who will be coming back next year and so will I.
Coaches Were Fantastic Role Models
We were so impressed with the professionalism, dedication and organization of the camp. The coaches and counselors were fantastic role models for our son. We were more than impressed! Thanks!
The campers and coaches were accommodating of all ages
My son was the youngest camper at the Contact Football Camp at West Chester. Initially I was nervous about him participating, but the camp counselors made sure he was in a group with kids around his same size. He was easily immersed into the games/drills by all. The kids were great and he had a wonderful time. We will be sending him again next year.
Overnight Camper
Outstanding football camp, superb instruction
Football camp was outstanding! Coaches were superb. A sports camp, especially football, could NOT have been better!!