Cami Pasqualoni: Atlanta Falcons
Scouting in the NFL is a job that keeps the talent fresh, ensuring that the team continues to grow in a positive direction. Cami Pasqualoni recently graduated from Syracuse University where she spent two years working in their scouting department. Upon her graduation, Cami began working for the Atlanta Falcons as a Scouting Assistant. I had the interview to sit down with her and talk about her experience within the league.
Cami’s Story:
A little bit about Cami:
Cami was immersed in the sports world long before her days as a scout began at Syracuse. She was born in Syracuse, NY and from there moved around a lot for her dads job as head football coach. “So the life of a football coach or anybody in sports period, kind of involves a little bit of flexibility in moving and stuff. So we got around quite a bit. I was born in Syracuse, moved to Dallas. He went to the Cowboys, moved to Miami, went to the Dolphins. Cowboys, college football, UConn. We bounced around quite a bit, so moved like nine or ten times. Wound up in Connecticut for high school. I was lucky enough to stay at the same high school for four years. Both my brothers went to, like, four different high schools. So I was lucky and stayed there for four years. I grew up playing sports my whole life, and then in high high school, I played volleyball, basketball and lacrosse, and powder buff. Powder Puff was great. I played volleyball, basketball and lacrosse.”
After high school, Cami had a couple different options for college. Ultimately she picked Syracuse with the hope of walking on to the lacrosse team. In the end, that didn’t quite work out how she was hoping, but it did open other doors and opportunities for her. “In my junior year, I was like, well, shoot, I'm kind of out of luck. So I tried the basketball thing. I was like, 'Hey, are you guys taking walk ons over there?' I'm trying anything at this point. I kind of missed my shot with lacrosse so I went there. They were willing to do like 'you could be a manager and if somebody goes down you go in.' My impression was kind of similar to football. My dad always said that he would take as many walk downs as he could, because they were all free. They’re there, they're gonna work hard, they're gonna practice, or get kids, you'd take them. But I didn't realize that basketball doesn't have an unlimited number the same way that football would have. So they told me I was going to be a manager, and if somebody goes down, I would have a chance at that. But I was like, 'well, damn, I mean, what order are we counting on here?' So then I ended up working in the football office and got connected with some people. Some of my friends on the team connected me with their Director of On-Campus recruiting in the football office and I did that for about two and a half years. And then as a student, it kind of became like a full time thing for me over the past year.” From there, Cami connected with scouts in the league and was lucky enough to get her name out there.
How did you get involved with the Falcons?
Cami’s time at the Falcons came pretty unexpectedly. She remembers the day she got a call about the opportunity, she was golfing with her friend and they had just resigned their lease for her to stay in Syracuse when she got a call. “I picked up, and I was like, 'What the heck?' Because these jobs are like, you don't really inquire about, or you can inquire, but there's no, per se, like a posted job for a lot of these things, you know? Like the job's gone before it gets posted. So I answered right after I saw the Tampa Bay area code, I spoke to the guy named for Al McCartney, a super nice guy. Ended up going through that interview process with them. I looked at my friends and I was like, 'Oh, my goodness, we just, we literally, I just signed that, didn't I?' So that happened. I went to Tampa Bay. Somebody here named Michael Ross, who's Assistant Director of College Scouting. He went to Syracuse, worked in the football office there, knew of me and my name. Not entirely sure how he got my name. So that's something I still like to mess with him about to this day. I'm like, 'Where'd you find me?' And we've never, like, I've never got to the bottom of it. Like he reached out to me, got in touch. I truly think being involved in the office there at Syracuse, can help, and then I also just lucked out that my dad is kind of involved in the industry. It doesn't have to be like a family member or anything, but any sort of connection, I think, just to get your foot through the door. Even, like, the thing in Tampa Bay, like our family knows nobody there. I don't know anyone there. But the scouts that I had connected with, Mark Orzek, threw my name out on the table when he heard that they were looking for people to interview for a Scouting Assistant job.”
What does a day in your life look like working for the Falcons?
Cami says that no day is the same, there is always something different going on in the facility. “Okay. So during the season, when I got here was training camp, so I started in July. During training camp, we do a lot of rosters that are being updated every day. They have so many people on their roster during training camp before you do the cut down. So roster cards are kind of pretty big. And it's a front and back, and it's got everybody on your roster. It's like color coded differently, you separate positions, what year they are, like if we just drafted them or if they're a college free agent, all those types of things and there's daily transactions. So we can update that, laminate those, hand them out to the staff and the personnel department. So they were kind of identified, they went out there and made their evaluations on them.”
Besides roster cards, Cami has recently learned how to use a camera for film. “The scouting systems here have to help the video people film the practice, which has been something. I didn't know how to offer the camera at all. Oh man. at all. I'm running around practice. Like, I have no idea, and then I hit one wrong button and I'm screwed. But, I got used to it and then I enjoyed that because I got to kind of connect with the guys.” And lastly, Cami does a lot of free agent workouts which reminds her a lot of what she did at Syracuse. “More so in the season, is free agent workouts. So it kind of reminded me of being at Syracuse with official visits, bringing the kids in on campus for these free agent workouts, you kind of do the same deal you bring people in. They're going to go through their physicals before they workout and then take them through workouts. Which is kind of a schedule and we plan all that stuff. We really assist anyone who needs anything, coaches will help with little things. We help each week with the special teams advance… This past month or two has been a lot. So I went to the Tropical Bowl in Orlando, Dallas, went to the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. Just got back from the combine in Indianapolis, last week.”
What is the best experience or opportunity that you have had since beginning your work with the Falcons?
One thing that Cami didn’t expect when she started this job was being on the sideline during games. During game days she works on the sidelines with the Microsoft tablets going through different plays. “So during the games, we just hand them out to the coaches and like some of these games I got no business being here. And I'm on the sidelines like a football game versus the Philadelphia Eagles where we win, like a walk off. Like, some of the things are crazy. So the Eagles game in the beginning of the season that we won. I'm just standing on the sideline for no reason, like, handing out these iPads. That was a pretty neat experience to be a part of, like the locker room after the game, that was really cool to be a part of.”
Do you feel that it has been a harder experience getting involved in football being a woman and how have you overcome that?
Cami hasn’t found it harder to get involved as a woman, and she attributes it to being in the environment that she is in. “Maybe I'm in a building where it's just so welcoming and, like, inclusive that I don't feel any of that because like, everybody here is just unbelievable and I've never felt for a second that that like mattered to anything.” But she thinks that getting over the mindset that you can’t do things is something that is paramount to overcoming obstacles. “I think the biggest thing for me was to understand and overcome that I can do that and that there are girls who are doing that. Like, it's not as far-fetched as you might think. So I think overcoming that, like, personally, like myself and then getting in the building and starting to kind of like find my way, like we're watching guys, we're all sitting in a big room. And if I have questions, like, I'm not afraid. Like, I'm the first to say that I know the least in the room. So accepting that number one, if you're a boy or a girl, it doesn't matter. Like, coming into this, I guess, like the humility part of it, just understanding, like, I don't know anything yet. Like, I'm here to learn. Like, people like a clean slate, too, because now we get to learn how they want us to learn. So I think having confidence to kind of show humility and ask questions, especially being a girl, I guess, because you already kind of feel like, 'Oh, I'm the only girl in the room,' and then to also go out there and ask questions. But just to overcome it on your own, like, mentally. And then when you're surrounded by the right people, I don't think it impacts the job at all. But I understand, like, it is a hurdle, for sure. But for me, it was more like a personal mental hurdle."
Do you have any advice for girls coming into college who may want to get involved
similarly to how you have?
The number one thing Cami says is don’t let anything being “male dominated” stop you. She remembers being so nervous about her interview at Syracuse and shaking, but overcoming that thought process made it easier to get through. Even with her interview with the Falcons, she felt nervous, but remembers she just remained confident in herself and not being afraid to try new things. “The worst thing someone is going to tell you is 'no.' Like, I don't know. I'd probably like zone out sometimes and look at things. I saw videos, like, on TikTok the other day. It was, like, is it really that deep? And it was a girl and she was on a plane flying over New York. All the buildings are so small. And I was like, is it really that deep? And I was like do everything to the best of your ability and be so detailed in what you do, you know? Like, in everything that you put forth, like, your name is stamped on. So everything you do, you have to do to the best of your ability. But at the same time, don’t let your mind overtake or persuade you not to do things. Like overthinking, I got to get better at that, like, overthinking is hard, but just bite the bullet.”
Beyond being confident and not overthinking, Cami recommends building connections with everyone, because you might not know who is willing to help you. “If somebody were to have pulled up to the Syracuse University Football Facility and walked upstairs instead of the secretary, like, 'Do you know if there's any internships available or whatever?' Like, I guarantee they will connect you with somebody, who knows somebody who can get you somewhere. Like you walk into the building, you reach out to those people. Even stuff like this, like, you gotta just reach out to people. LinkedIn, like, literally anything. I would just say, don't be afraid”
