EASTON, Pa. -- University of Delaware football assistant coaches Aaron Harris, Steve Casula, Drew Nystrom, Steve Thomas, and Damien Wroblewski recently took part in the sixth annual Lauren’s First and Goal Football Camp on the Metzgar Fields Athletic Complex at Lafayette College.

The four were among 275 college coaches who took part in the one-day clinic on June 7 that drew 1,733 high school students and raised a record $190,000 for pediatric brain tumor research.

Harris will begin his second season with the UD staff as running backs coach in 2009, Casula will be a second-year student assistant, Nystrom and Thomas are first-year staff members as graduate assistants, and Wroblewski will enter his third year this fall as offensive line coach and run game coordinator.

The donations from campers alone tallied $62,000 and the day’s total of $190,000 is steadily on the rise with the help from outside contributions, including a $100,000 pledge from the Special Needs Trust in Clearwater, Fla.

Lauren, the daughter of Lafayette defensive coordinator John Loose, addressed the crowd of players, coaches, parents and volunteers who turned out to support her battle with an inoperable brain tumor and expressed her appreciation for their continuous support. Connecticut head coach Randy Edsall was the keynote speaker.

In the six years since the camp’s inception, Lauren’s First and Goal has grown from just 56 volunteer coaches and 300 campers to one of the largest one-day clinics in the nation and has added a second camp at the University of South Florida which is in its second year. Raheem Morris, head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was the guest speaker at that camp on June 14.

“We want to thank the hundreds of volunteers who helped make the day so special. Without the help from our Board, including John and Pam Troxell, this event would not be possible,” Loose said. “A big thanks also goes out to Lafayette College and all its staff for their tremendous support in this charity event.”

In addition to the help from the 275 volunteer coaches, current and former Lafayette football players were on hand to help set up and instruct the campers.

With the generosity of its volunteers and sponsors, Lauren’s First and Goal has raised over $700,000 in six years, seeing more than 7,000 high school players participate. Lauren’s First and Goal is able to donate all proceeds directly to pediatric brain tumor research and cancer services. To donate, please visit www.laurensfirstandgoal.org

Funding has been dedicated to specific research studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, the UCLA Medical Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Brookhaven National Lab and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and the Duke University Brain Tumor Center through the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation of the US. The Foundation also funds pediatric cancer services including pet therapy programs, patient advocacy initiatives, and social and support group opportunities, and aids families living with a pediatric cancer diagnosis.