Jojo Dixon is shown training athletes at his Dickson Performance facility in Kahului. Dixon, a Baldwin High School graduate who played at the University of Idaho for several years and worked professionally for more than a year to bring the ESPN 300 football camp to Maui - the camp is scheduled for July 2 at King Kekaulike Stadium. CIRUS PERRI photo
Jojo Dixon saw a great need and decided to do something about it.
The former Baldwin High School, University of Idaho and professional footballer has spearheaded efforts to relocate the ESPN 300 football camp to Maui, and more than a year of work will be achieved when the camp takes place on July 2 in King Kekaulike. Stadium.
“It’s exciting, I think, it’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” Dixon said Saturday. “I think inspiration leads all the way to Just Win Camp when I was in high school. I attended that camp for two years in a row and it was great for us.
“I just thought it was so cool to have almost all the best players in the country competing and learning. I’ve always wanted to bring something like this here. “
After graduating from Baldwin in 2007, Dixon was an outstanding defender for the Vandals from 2007-11, and then he pursued his dream of professional football for more than four years.
CIRUS PERRI photo
He spent time with several NFL franchises in training teams or out of season, but he was never hooked for long and never played in an NFL game.
He also signed contracts with teams called Omaha Nighthawks and Omaha Mammoths.
“About four years of jumping - at that time I played for five different teams. I’ve been with the Jacksonville, the Browns, the Jets, the Cardinals and the Chiefs. said Dixon. “In the meantime, I also played in several different leagues - UFL, ek-KSFL, several leagues that no longer exist, but I went through the ring of professional leagues and had a huge amount of opportunities.
“Unfortunately, things never went the way I dreamed, but I left comfortably, I felt like I did my best and gave my best. If it didn’t work, it didn’t work. My last team I played for was in Canada - I played for BC Lyons, I didn’t really enjoy it, that’s why I decided I was done. “
When he returned home from British Columbia in 2015, he “I found out my wife was pregnant and I’ve been home ever since.”
Jojo Dixon was shown at his training facility in Kahului. CIRUS PERRI photo
Now, he and his wife Amber have three daughters - Kailina, 5, Kavela, 3, and Kawai, 3 months.
“I am numerically higher in this household, let me tell you,” said Dixon.
Now, Dixon runs a training program for local athletes called Dickson Performance. He worked with UC Report and ESPN to organize an event called ESPN300 Elite Hawaii Camp.
“Coming home, realizing how little we have, I haven’t seen many camps or clinics coming this way,” said Dixon. “I think the last big football camp was about 12 years ago, and I think at one point it was almost impossible to do something like that.
Having COVID-19 and still working with children during that time, seeing that they have no seasons and that they are very limited in sports and athletics, what a tribute it took to them, somehow pushed me over the edge to go and continue to do something like this. ”
Dixon (left) and his colleague at the Jacobs Line fight during training at the Cleveland Browns Camp on July 29, 2012. Dixon spent time with the Browns, Jaguars, Jets, Cardinals and Chiefs. Photo AP file
The camp is for athletes aged 13-17 and is full, but Dixon intends to make it an annual event.
“I came to my old college coach, Rob Akei, and asked him for advice - he took me to his employment coordinator, who took me to the UC report,” he said. said Dixon. “I turned to The UC Report, founder and CEO Billy Tucker, and somehow explained to him, ‘We have very little here, but we have a lot of talent, we have a lot of kids eager to play. I think you could do something special for them. ‘ And he was for it. ”
He caught the eye of one of the few Maui players who are currently chasing professional football, USFL Panthers linebacker Mo Vainikolou, who graduated from Maui.
“It will be a camp for children from Hawaii - I think it’s probably one of the first big camps Maui had.” Vainikolo said last week. “It’s the ESPN 300 camp, so it’s really good for exhibiting. I encourage all parents to take their children there. ”
The effort started a little over a year ago and now it is a reality.
“Here, we are now ready to put it together,” said Dixon. “The camp is being held on July 2, so now we are finishing the fine details. We have 350 children registered for that. That’s a big deal.
“I had in mind myself, my ex, my high school self. … Knowing what I know now, if I had this then, what would I want? I would like a camp where I can compete with the best, but also to be maximally exposed. So that’s exactly what this is. “
Added by Dickson: “With the new rules, we can’t really have recruits at faculties in private camps. So, the UC report is probably the next best thing. They are NCAA compliant employment services, they are the best in the state - they work with 110 grade I schools and about 100 lower level schools. ”
Measurements such as height, weight, arm length and wing span will be taken. All participants will be equipped with the latest Under Armor products.
Header snapshots and profile photos will be taken for publication in the UC Reports database and used for espn.com content.
A seminar will be held where all participants will have the opportunity to get acquainted with the employment process.
The NFL combine-style testing and drilling segment will complete the camp. The high-definition video will be recorded in all exercises and 1-on-1 for the evaluation of the college coach.
The results of the combination will be sent directly to the athletes via a free application after the event. Media members from ESPN, Rivals and 24/7 Sports will be at each event to assess and interview the prospects.
“They provide how to behave on social media, how to make your top band, which camps to attend, how to do your job in recruiting,” said Dixon. “I saw profiles they made for other players and those are some of the deepest profiles I’ve ever seen.”
Tom Luginbill, the national director of employment for ESPN, will be present, Dickson said.
“They do their job, that’s what they do” Dixon told The UC Report. “They are great, they are connected with ESPN, Under Armor, Gatorade. And so not only do children get coverage, they are directly exposed to recruiters, they can compete. ”
* Robert Collias is at [email protected]
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CIRUS PERRI photo
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Jojo Dixon was shown at his training facility in Kahului. CIRUS PERRI photo
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Dixon (left) and his colleague at the Jacobs Line fight during training at the Cleveland Browns Camp on July 29, 2012. Dixon spent time with the Browns, Jaguars, Jets, Cardinals and Chiefs. Photo AP file
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Jojo Dixon is shown training athletes at his Dickson Performance facility in Kahului. Dixon, a Baldwin High School graduate who played at the University of Idaho for several years and worked professionally for more than a year to bring the ESPN 300 football camp to Maui - the camp is scheduled for July 2 at King Kekaulike Stadium. CIRUS PERRI photo