At the John Kaleo Quarterback Academy, fundamentals and physical training are staples of the program. Invariably, though, the participants would name the classroom chalkboard session, film study, and mental preparation as the parts of the program where they learned the most at the Kaleo QB Academy.
The Pinellas starting prep quarterbacks were on display Sunday afternoon at Skyway Park. Under the watchful eye and sometimes sharp wit of Kaleo, they threw and competed.
Pete Dinovo of East Lake High, Louie Pappas of Tarpon Springs High, Anthony Diviney of Dunedin High, and Billy Pavlock of Palm Harbor University were all in attendance.
When asked what he can immediately implement from the training, Diviney, heading into his senior season in 2011, said, “I’m just trying to carry over a little bit of accuracy and footwork. That’s what I really need to apply to my game.”
Tarpon Springs rising senior Louie Pappas, who has filled out to nearly 200 pounds on his 6-foot frame, commented on what he already has accomplished in the last four weeks working with Kaleo. “I really wanted to shorten up my release, which I’ve done. It’s natural now for me, which is huge. That and learning defenses better: from shades ..and if this guys coming down, what does that mean? ..and different protection schemes [as well].”
From rising seniors to as young as eighth graders, the camp serves as a quarterback toolbox. The players realize that the position is a fraternity, but competition was still intense. Most of the drills were competition oriented with a winner awarded.
Other observations:
- East Lake rising junior Pete Dinovo is home-schooled. He is a Florida Virtual School attendee. He started all ten games for the Eagles as a sophomore. Big, at 6′ 2″ and 195 pounds, he has always had the athleticism, playing running back until four years ago. So he wanted to sharpen the mental aspects of his game. “In the classroom I wanted to polish up on that, so when I walk up to the line, I absolutely know what the defense is doing and what their weaknesses are.”
- Two young guys that caught my eye physically are Brad Mayes, who will be a freshman at Berkeley Prep next fall, and Brandon Jones, a rising sophomore for the Brandon Eagles. Both are taller than 6-foot and have strong arms. Mayes threw the ball 50 yards and ranked right with the older QB’s in arm strength. Jones led the Brandon JV squad to a 4-2 mark in 2010.
- Tommy is the latest in the Eveld clan of quarterbacks at Jesuit. Eveld is the younger brother of Bobby Eveld, the true freshman QB that led the South Florida Bulls to an upset of Miami in November. Tommy is over 6-foot-4 and is a rising senior. He is locked in a battle with fellow camper Aaron Paulsen for the starting QB job at Jesuit in 2011.