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Local Sports

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News13’s Stephen Gunter is committed to giving you stories of the Panhandle’s top athletes, intriguing match-ups and unusual sports you may not even know exist.
sgunter@wmbb.com

Friday, July 06, 2007

NATS Combine

PANAMA CITY - High school football players from the southeast have an easier opportunity to impress college coaches.

The Mike Gavlak Sports Complex in Panama City Beach will host the National Athletic Testing System (NATS).  It serves as a combine-type system. 

The program not only tests athletes’ athletic ability, but the stats are posted online for any coach in the country to look at.  Athletes will be drilled in the 40-yard dash, strength, jumping ability, physical appearance, among other things.

But what sets the NATS apart from any other combine is that it provides schools with the students’ academic information.

“You can ask any college coach in the country,” NATS field coordinator Mike Walker said.  “They don’t want to know how good an athlete is if they can’t cut it academically.

“It’s not like it was 25 years ago where there may have been exceptions and ways to get around it.  Now-a-days the first thing [coaches] want to know is what that students GPA is,” Walker said.  “They don’t want to know how fast he is, how strong or what he can do, until they know he’s going to be able to do it for them.”

The combine will be held Saturday, July 14.  The cost is $55 dollars per athlete and you must pre-register.

For more information you can call Mike Walker at 784-8196 or visit http://www.nats.us.

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