VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — There are few local figures who enjoy coaching more than Bobby Wilder. He's been a football coach for 32 years spending 13 years at Old Dominion tasked with recruiting and starting up the program, carrying the head coaching role from 2009-2019. Wilder coached current NFL players who came out of ODU Taylor Heinicke, Zach Pascal and Rick Lovato.
Although he's no longer a college coach, Wilder is still living out his dream in a similar role locally launching his first ever 757 mega football camp on Sunday.
His desire to coach is infectious and its why over 200 athletes gathered at Virginia Wesleyan for the event to receive instruction from Wilder as well as other college coaches from Duke, Maine, New Hampshire, and North Carolina Central.
Open to grades 7-12, the camp also helped players launch their recruiting profiles. Similar to a combine, their height, weight, and 40 yard dash were recorded to advertise to potential college coaches on their personal platforms.
Wilder's ambition to start the camp stemmed from conversations he's had with players and parents about the limited opportunities to go to camps and get exposure. Wilder was quick to solve that problem.
"We want to be the first camp in the country this year. This is the first day you're allowed to have a camp so we can train them and get the older kids ready for when they go to Old Dominion, Norfolk State, Hampton, Virginia, and Virginia Tech," said Wilder. " So when they get to all these schools they're prepared to do the testing that's required. There are 983 schools that play college football in America. There's a home for everybody."
