CRESTVIEW — Several future Bulldogs likely were on the field during last week's Crestview High School Bulldog Football Camp.
Approximately 50 players between ages 5 and 18 took part in the three-day event.
Crestview High School football Coach Tim Hatten, now in his third year with the program, was pleased with the turnout and said it was good for younger players to see what things are like in a high school setting.
“It’s good for the kids to get to come out on the game field,” he said. “It’s always nice to expose them to the local high school program early, where they can get a taste of being around a bigger atmosphere. And it’s just a lot of fun, more than anything else."
PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES
CHS's administration and Principal Dexter Day require community service from their athletic teams. Hatten said the camp doesn’t fall under the full criteria of community service, but it does meet a need in the community.
"We’ve had good participation," Hatten said. "Any time you provide any kind of camp — whether it be football or softball — you provide an opportunity for young kids,” he said. “I think most all of our sports provide some sort of summer camp and an opportunity for young kids.
“We are going to do the same thing (with football) and do our part in it. Football is one of the bigger sports and can draw a few more people than the other minor sports can. I think that Tim Gillis does an excellent job with his baseball camp and we are trying to get there with this camp.”
Hatten said it will take time to establish the camp, and he hopes working with local youth football organizations will allow the Bulldogs to keep building the camp.
TEACHING THE BASICS
Football is a game of hitting. And while Hatten and his staff can’t work the campers in full blocking and tackling drills, they find ways to incorporate every aspect of the game into the camp.
“You want to make it as fun as you can so they will enjoy coming to it,” Hatten said. “Any time you can hit the (tackling) dummies and throw the ball and catch the ball, those are the finer points of football. There is not a lot of tackling that goes on at these camps, so that end of it is a little different.
“More than anything else, we teach them some agility drills, some quickness stuff, the stance and starts, and things like that, to improve their footwork and to show them some of the things we do in preparation for football season.
"Any time you can make your sport fun — I don’t care what sport it is — you need to try and do that.”
Email News Bulletin Sports Editor Randy Dickson, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Future Crestview Bulldogs learn football basics