Safe, Summer Football Fun
ADAMS TWP — Gus Aubrecht lowered his shoulder into the tackling pad and churned his legs.
When he was done, he straightened, placed his gloved hands on the top of his head and let out an exhale and a smile.
“I like hitting things,” the 12-year-old from Mars said during a break at the Mars Youth Football Camp Wednesday at the new all-purpose field across the street from the Mars Athletic Complex. “They're teaching us the right way to do it, the right way to tackle, which will make it even more fun and safe to play.”
That is precisely the goal for the coaches running the camp, which is in its second year.
It's all about introducing the sport and teaching fundamentals to the approximately 50 participants, whose ages ranged from 7 to 12.
“The goal is to get them to have some fun and instill an interest in football,” said Mars High School assistant football coach Dave Goodworth, who is one of the instructors at the camp. “Obviously, the game is something that some people are a little fearful of, so we're trying to show them it can be fun, it can be safe and it's something that's worth their time.“Anything you do carries inherent risks,” Goodworth added. “If you try to teach the game the right way, you hope to minimize those risks. So everything we do is emphasizing safety. Correct tackling techniques, keeping your eyes up and trying to do things to avoid injury.”The camp, which began Monday and runs through Thursday, was started last year with the goal of getting more youths involved in the sport.It's already paid dividends.“It's making the parents comfortable,” said Rob Wagner, president of the Mars youth football organization. “We have Dave Goodworth, who is the best coach I've ever worked for, and I've coached 15 years now at all different levels. You have a guy like that out here and his kids are playing, that lends a lot of credibility to what we're trying to do and what we're teaching.”After a dip in numbers, the league has seen a rise in participation, thanks in part to the camp.“Last year, we went from hardly being able to field a 7-, 8-, 9-year-old team to having 20 kids on that team. At our middle level, the year prior, we only had one team with 25 kids to having two teams with 25 kids.”Several Mars varsity football players also participated in the camp.Chuck Green, a senior at Mars, is helping out for the first time this year.“It's a lot of fun helping these kids out, helping them learn the game of football,” Green said. “I just want them to learn cooperation and teamwork. It makes me feel good about myself.”After stretching and a 40-yard-dash competition, the players broke out into different position groups.The campers then rotated between each of the stations.“Each camper gets exposed to every position, offensively and defensively,” Goodworth said. “At this age, you don't know ultimately if you're going to be a quarterback or a lineman or a running back, so we expose them to everything. And I think the highlight for all the kids is at the end we play a two-hand touch game. It's fun for everyone.”
