By Brent Glasgow
May 09, 2008 08:01 pm
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BROWNSBURG — Football coaches say it’s never too early to teach players how to do things the right way, and 72 young Brownsburg Bulldogs now have a better understanding of what to expect when they hit the gridiron at the high school level.
Brownsburg coach Brett Comer, staff members, and varsity players spent the last four Tuesday evenings as part of the program’s annual spring skills camp running sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade players through the same warm-ups and drills they do themselves every season. They spent 90 minutes each night learning proper technique, and it provided a welcomed workout after a long winter.
“It kind of fills a void for them, and I had some parents mention that the kids were dying to do something and they were dying to get them out of the house to do something,” Comer said. “The best part about it is that we get to work with them.”
In addition to varsity coaches and players, campers were instructed by all of the BHS freshman coaches and many middle school coaches.
“It’s good for the players, but it’s also good for the coaches because they get to meet them and they’ll see them again (at camp) this summer, I hope,” Comer said.
The clinic is part of a trickle-down effect from the high school all the way down to the Brownsburg Junior Football League, where the same terminology and instruction are instilled so that players have a leg up when they arrive at BHS.
“By the time they get to the freshman level, the goal is that they already know and we’re good to go as they progress from freshman to varsity,” Comer said. “That’s the idea of a program.”
Along with fundamentals, discipline and attentiveness were also key focuses, starting with making sure players answer their coaches with an enthusiastic, “Yes sir,” when called upon. Comer challenged campers to transfer that show of respect to life off the field, and it has shown immediate results.
“One kid said, ‘My English teacher couldn’t even say anything to me because I said, Yes ma’am,’” Comer said. “The kid said it was kind of weird because she didn’t know how to react, and other kids said they used the same thing at home.”
Between his spring and summer camps, Comer is seeing a lot of the same faces, something that bodes well for the future of the program.
“It’s a lot of the same kids coming back, and they’re getting it over and over, so that hopefully when they get to me we’re way ahead of the game,” he said. “That is the ultimate goal.”
Part of the enjoyment during the camp for Comer was watching one of his own players — senior Jacob Carlson — excelling at teaching football to youngsters. Seeing Carlson’s own personal growth over the years has been fun for the third-year Bulldogs head coach.
“When he was a freshman, he wouldn’t even talk to you,” Comer said. “He grunted when he was a sophomore, finally said his first words as a junior, and now he’s out here teaching kids how to play linebacker — and he’s going to play at Franklin College next year. That’s the cool part, watching kids grow up and become good guys and men of character.”
brent.glasgow@flyergroup.com
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