His duck head is larger than life, of course.

A duck head or a kangaroo tail is part of the deal when you are either a professional mascot or hope to become one.

At Knights Stadium on Friday, the original Homer the Dragon, the mascot of the Charlotte Knights, held an all-day camp where he told veteran mascots and wannabes the tricks of the trade.

"You gotta have fun," said Joby Giacalone, Homer for four years before heading out to Denver, where he was the Colorado Rockies mascot for two years. He's now a computer programmer who runs Mascot Consulting. "When you put that head on, you are a dog or an eagle."

Andrew Hill dreams of putting on that head. Hill is a 16-year-old from a one-horse town called Ghent, W.Va., and he came all this way just for the camp after reading about it on the Internet.

"I'm just trying to get started," said Hill, whose favorite mascot is Jackson de Ville of the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars. "It must be fun to be an anonymous person who makes people laugh."

But the life of a mascot isn't all smiles. Brett Rhinehardt of Charlotte, who helped teach the camp Friday, was the Seattle Mariners Moose years ago when he broke an ankle on national television.

Brent Womack of Kannapolis, N.C., can point to his face and say "I'm made of steel," because he is. Womack was struck in the face with a baseball bat while performing a mascot skit in 1999. He required facial surgery with four steel plates in his face, a new nose and a reconstructed jaw.

Womack, 23, says he was a young wiseguy who found a home under the mascot's head. He has done all kinds of mascot work for years but is ready to get out of the business. But, he said he'll miss the special appearances the most.

"To make a kid laugh in a cancer ward who might not see the end of the week, well, that is the biggest reward," Womack said.

The camp drew about a dozen mascots, including Kimberly Miller who was Yogi the Bear at Paramount's Carowinds in Fort Mill for three years. Jamie Hogan is a mechanical engineer, whose alter ego is Kicker the Kangaroo for the Richmond Kickers pro soccer team.

On Friday, they all wanted to glean Giacalone's and Rhinehardt's secrets to success in the big time. Big-time mascots can make big-time money.

The present Homer the Dragon showed up too, but, as usual, said nothing. Mascots don't talk, Giacalone explained, they entertain.

A professional mascot's act isn't all improvisation, Giacalone told the group. Prepare, rehearse and get the timing down. But stuffed shirts better stick with punching calculators or laptops.

"A nice costume is good, but you better have talent," Giacalone said.

And be funny.