Thousand Oaks, Calif. --- B2G Sports has always prided themselves on being forward thinkers.
As they commenced for their Annual Elite Camp at Cal Lutheran University, a goal was to, once again, get this year's campers to think about marketability.
For the second consecutive year as part of it's Elite Camp, B2G held a media workshop for camp attendees with regional and local journalists serving as workshop panelists.
It was explained to the campers how their interaction with the media provides an outlet for them to showcase their likeabilty, which, in turn, can make them more marketable.
"I think branding, they see most definitely as a benefit for them," said B2G Vice President of Community and Brand Development, Jabari Ali. "As soon as they turn on a video game it probably has thousands of impressions as soon as they turn it on. It's not just EA Sports. EA Sports has branding deals with apparel companies, (and) beverage companies.
"They see the guys who are being interviewed heavy and how they conduct themselves. They see it and I think they get it."
Selected campers were also put through mock interviews designed to make them uneasy.
They were hit with a myriad of questions ranging from their recruitment process, having to answer questions after a tough loss, and dealing with controversy surrounding themselves or their team -- all issues that some of them may face as they wrap up their high school careers and most certainly will face as collegiate athletes with more media exposure. As some of them already know, it's not the easiest thing to do.
"It was cool. I really liked that it got us in situations where we really had to think about what we were saying and it prepared us for the future," said Los Osos wide receiver Victor Bolden. "I've done interviews before and I know how it is to get interviewed and it's mind-boggling sometimes.
"(It) puts pressure (on you), in a way, and it really did help once I took action in doing it. I felt like it was very helpful."
Added Ali, "There are some reporters out there who kind of cross the line because at the end of the day these are kids. They are 16, 17 years old and going into this without a lot of life experience. It could become challenging. It takes a reporter with a different heart to educate them too and get them ready for some of the things that they're going to have to look forward to later on in life."
Once all was said and done, B2G viewed the workshop as a success.
"The student athletes were really involved and really intuitive to what was going on," Ali said. "I hope they took 10% out of that because I think 10% could make them 100% better."
The Elite Camp is designed to simulate what life is like as a Division I student-athlete. Sandwiched in between practices on Saturday were position group film sessions.
Camp will conclude Sunday with 7-on-7 competition. They'll hit the field at 10:30am.
