Six years strong: that is the forecast for the 2016 Durant High School Mike Gottman Youth Football Camp. The camp, now somewhat of a tradition, has been held at the school’s practice field and is named for the football program’s head coach.
This year, after a day of combine testing on Monday, June 13, normal camp activities will run from Tuesday, June 14, to Thursday, June 16.
“We do a lot of things that they’re going to be tested on at the high school level,” Gottman says. “It’s a good little camp to promote football.”
Gottman started the camp in 2010 as a means to work with a younger group. The camp invites third-graders through incoming ninth-graders. It’s also given Gottman and his staff a sneak peek at some of the kids who will go on to join the football program in the fall.
“It does bridge a gap between incoming ninth-graders and high school football,” Gottman says. “It gets them acclimated. It gives us three-and-a-half days to evaluate their skill level.”
The camp’s structure has changed some since the first year, but not much. It’s always offered instruction at each position, from the quarterback to the trenches, and has given kids the opportunity to show what they’re made of in drills and light game action.
These days, the camp staff has gotten into the habit of including combine-style testing. These tests, which include the 40-yard dash, the standing long jump and shuttles, are meant to show the coaches what each kid is capable of and with whom they should be grouped for better instruction.
“We separate the kids based on abilities,” Gottman says. “And you don’t want to put a ninth-grader against a third-grader. You’ve got to understand different talent levels.”
Gottman says the camp has doubled in size since 2010, when he held the first camp with about 25 kids. He expects around 50 to show up this year.
The camp is run by Gottman and most of his coaching staff. Many of his players will also be there to work with the kids each day, as it’s an opportunity for them to earn community service hours.
Each camper gets a T-shirt, and they also have the ability to win awards over those few days. Gottman says some of the certificates traditionally given out to kids who excel include “Most Valuable,” “Most Improved” and “Coaches’ Choice,” among others.
Gottman says past campers have gone on to play high school football at Durant.
“We’ve got our starting offensive guard, Daniel Conrad, who had a pretty good spring game — he came in as a quarterback,” Gottman says. “I said, ‘Son, you sure you want to play QB? You look more like a lineman.’ He hung in there and played quarterback but, when he came to the high school level, we moved him to the offensive line. He’s really gotten better over the years.”
Gottman says he and his staff get as much enjoyment from running the show as the kids do from playing .
“It’s just working with the kids,” Gottman says. “There’s no stress. It’s not about winning or anything like that. It’s teaching them as much about the game as we possibly can.”
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.