• Join SGO
  • Meet Our Team
  • Review Policy
Saturday, June 14, 2025
  • Login
Sports Gamers Online
  • News
  • Features
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Previews
  • Esports
PATREON
No Result
View All Result
Sports Gamers Online
  • News
  • Features
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Previews
  • Esports
PATREON
No Result
View All Result
Sports Gamers Online
No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Features
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Previews
  • Esports

Home » Games » Football » Gaming’s Lost Features: Madden Mini-Camp Mode

Madden Mini-Camp Mode Lost Features

Gaming’s Lost Features: Madden Mini-Camp Mode

Staff Writer by Staff Writer
Feb 6, 2016
Reading Time: 5 mins read
31 2
A A
0
39
SHARES
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterPost on Reddit

Do you remember when Madden had Mini-Camp Drills?

It was Madden 2003 that introduced Mini-Camp mode. Mini-Camp mode would put you in the shoes of an NFL player during Mini-camp, challenging you to complete training drills efficiently, aiming for a top score in order to unlock more drills.

Some of the drills included Trench Fight, which would see you controlling a Defensive Lineman and demanded that you do all you could to get past the Offensive Lineman on your way to the Quarterback. Or how about my favorite: QB Pocket Presence, which would see you avoiding little, yellow dots as a QB while you stayed in the “pocket” and completed passes to one of three receivers.

You might also like

Top 10 Methods for Engaging Your Favorite Esports

Top 10 Ways for Getting the Most of out the NBA Season

Top 10 Online Communities for UFC and Combat Sports Fans in 2025

Madden-Mini Camp Passing drill
The QB Pocket Drill helped work on passing and pocket awareness.

While these drills were fun and a nice change of pace, the thing most people enjoyed about the mode was seeing players in Training Camp gear. Seeing players in pads and shorts was a nice bit of immersion, and the training facilities were also something we hadn’t seen to that level before. Not only that, but Mini-Camp mode was a good way to practice the fundamental stick skills. Madden Mini-Camp was a nice new feature, but it was a fairly small part of Madden 2003. It wouldn’t be until the following year that Tiburon, the developers of the Madden franchise since the mid-90’s, would find an even more impactful use for their new mode.

For fans of Madden’s Franchise Mode, Madden 2004 was a large step forward. Not only did it introduce Owner Mode, with new features such as Team Relocation, but Tiburon took the Mini-Camp Mode they had debuted the year prior and found a use for it in Franchise Mode. During the off-season, you were given the option of running different players through all the Mini-Camp drills. The better you did in a certain drill, the more points you could assign to that player’s attributes. You were only allowed to do each drill once, forcing you to think about which players needed progression in that area the most. This was all on top of the well-balanced, natural progression and regression system that went on during the season.

Madden-Mini Camp Drills
Madden-Mini Camp offered a variety of drills to choose from.

One of the big features of Madden 2006 was an all-new Superstar Mode, where you would create an NFL Rookie and attempt to make your legend as an NFL player. In the mode, these mini-games were used to to evaluate your player’s talent level going into the NFL Draft. Superstar Mode was a fantastic feature, but we’ll save that for another time.

When Madden transitioned to the Xbox 360 and PS3, it seemed like Tiburon was not only keeping the Mini-Camp mini-games, but they were also improving and expanding on them. New drills were implemented, and the new and improved graphics showed off more detailed players in compression shirts. Things like weight benches and giant timing clocks accompanied the new drills like Bench Reps and the 40 Yard Dash. Despite the graphical overhaul, the drills were seen as much less fun than the drills seen in the previous generation of games. The mini-games continued in Madden for years, going largely untouched and never having the same influence on Franchise Mode as they once did. Finally, Tiburon ceased their inclusion in the game starting with Madden NFL 13, a game that was also controversial for re-branding Franchise Mode into Connected Careers.

Continue Reading
Page 1 of 2
12Next
Tags: BadgesfrontpagenewsGamings Lost FeaturesMADDEN
Share16Tweet10Share
Previous Post

NBA 2K16 Defensive Tutorial: How to Stop the Pick and Roll

Next Post

2K Details NBA 2K16 Road to the Finals Competition

Staff Writer

Staff Writer

Recommended For You

esports -biggest-markets
Sports

Top 10 Methods for Engaging Your Favorite Esports

Jun 10, 2025
NBA
Sports

Top 10 Ways for Getting the Most of out the NBA Season

Jun 10, 2025
Next Post
nba 2k16 road to the finals logo

2K Details NBA 2K16 Road to the Finals Competition

Popular Right Now

  • EAFC 26 is set to have an “Open-World City”

    EAFC 26 is set to have an “Open-World City”

    113 shares
    Share 45 Tweet 28
  • Official NBA 2K16 Badges Guide

    1278 shares
    Share 511 Tweet 320
  • EA Sports and 2K are set to Develop College Basketball Games

    582 shares
    Share 233 Tweet 146
  • How Will High School in College Football 26 Road to Glory Work?

    44 shares
    Share 18 Tweet 11
  • NBA 2K25 Beginner Tips and Tricks- How To Get Wins ASAP!

    176 shares
    Share 70 Tweet 44
  • Official NBA 2K17 Badges Guide

    339 shares
    Share 136 Tweet 85
  • Licensed Coaches, High School Football, and More Coming to College Football 26

    19 shares
    Share 8 Tweet 5
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Meet Our Team
  • Join SGO
  • Privacy Policy
  • Review Policy
  • Store
Contact us: [email protected]

© 2014-2022 SGO Entertainment

Welcome Back!

Sign In with Facebook
Sign In with Google
OR

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
  • News
  • Features
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Previews
  • Esports

© 2014-2022 SGO Entertainment