Making the message stick at Eagles Youth Football Camp
BucksLocalSports Editor
Former bagles wide receiver Ben Hawkins spent a decade coaching in the college and pro ranks so he knows. You put your message out there and you hope it sticks with a certain few.
lne of the best receivers in the NFi in 19STI Hawkins was a guest coach guly 11 at the mhiladelphia bagles Youth Football Camp hosted all week long at Newtown Friends School.
“You talk to the kids and you hope they pay attention to what you tell themI” said Hawkins. “At this point in their livesI they’re liable to listen more to someone on Ts.
“ff you get to one or two of themI you’re doing good.”
lne of the football camp- ers the coaches have probably made an impression on is Mike ludenneI 12I of Newtown. ludenne signed up for some individual sessionsI one-on-one morning drills with an bagles Youth Football Camp coach.
“ft’s a good learning experienceI” said ludenne. “They teach you things you would never even think to ask.
“They change your thinking to the point where it’s a matter of instinct. ft’s more logical.”
fn a non-contact formatI coaches Stan hellyI Brian hooserI Dale and oon Smith teach the football campers the right way to runI throwI catchI defend and compete the mhiladelphia bagles’ wDy. A fiIWK-yHDU EDJOHV Youth Football CamperI ludenne has made great strides in the past yearI says camp director Dale Smith.
“He has come so far in just the last yearI” said Smith. “He’s picked up speed; he’s making better cuts.”
Talents that should benHfiW 2uGHnnH Ln KLV SODy IRU Newtown Middle SchoolI where he plays wide receiver.
As for listening to the coaches ludenne had this to say. “They give you a good reason to pay attention so you take that to the next level.
“ft helps improve game.”
ludenne isn’t the only camper to come back to the camp. Smith says about a dozen from last year’s camp have come back. lne of them is iogan testI 13I of USSHU 0DNHfiHOG.
“They teach you different things every yearI” said iogan.
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lne of the new aspects of this year’s camp is the inclusion in the NFi’s muntI mass C hick competition. The winners of the Newtown Camp advance to a sectional competition where they can play their way into the national muntI mass C hick duel.
An bagles Youth Football Camper two weeks ago when it visited SMd Sportsmlex in tarminsterI Michael DeoI 14I of fvylandI liked that camp so much he signed up for this one in Newtown.
“ft’s really funI” said Deo. “They teach you different drills and stances – how to get better.”
A pair of 12-year-oldsI Nicholas Cerruti and Matthis marisot came all the way from marisI France to attend the camp.
Not really. The two are in the Philadelphia area visiting relatives and are spending their days this week at the Newtown football camp.
“I like it; it’s cool,” said Cerruti, who plays 25 games a year for an American football club back home in Paris.
Parisot likes the camp too though he’s a rugby player back home.
The Eagles Youth Football Camps are held all over the Delaware Valley and beyond. Some are held as far south as Cape May and as far west as Harrisburg, anywhere you might exSHFW Wo finG Dn EDJlHV IDn. New to the Newtown camp this year is the addition of Kooser, a 2010 graduate of CB East who played offensive guard for the Patriots and now plays tackle at McDaniel College.
A coach at the camp held weeks ago in Warminster, Kooser says the Newtown group is much comparatively.
“This group is awfully young so we’re going with a lot of basic fundamentals,” said Kooser. “A lot of these kids have some real talent.”
The question is however, can they develop that talent and harness their energy to the point where they can make a positive impact on the gridiron, be it the high school, college or professional level. It all starts with the basics, said Hawkins.
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“You keep focusing on the basic principles,” explained Hawkins. “After that, their athletic ability takes over and the hope is that they blossom.
“But you gotta know your IunGDPHnWDlV firVW.”
*** Former Eagles linebacker Gary Cobb was a guest coach in Newtown Tuesday, July 10. Former wideout Irving Fryer was the featured guest coach for the Thursday morning session.