Missouri Western Football hosts youth camp; coach Fenwick reflects on the week
By Calvin Silvers
It was a busy but fun week on the Missouri Western campus, as the Griffons held their football youth camp for those interested in improving their skills and learning the game.
The camp saw 95-plus participants, and in the eyes of the coaches, it was another successful year of teaching the youth.
“When they catch a football, you know, they go out and catch a football 20 yards down the field,” Missouri Western head coach Tyler Fenwick said. “I mean, that’s something to celebrate and that’s something to, you know, have fun about, so, yeah, it’s good to just get out and run around.”
The camp kicked off on Monday and wrapped things up on Wednesday, with this specific youth camp featuring grades second through eighth with an abundance of skills being showcased. The first two hours were filled with drills that Fenwick uses with his guys at the college level, with the last hour being dedicated to Griff Ball, a competitive drill that focuses on getting open and finding those teammates.
This was also a perfect way for the community to interact with the team while seeing and using the facilities out at Western.
“Just those kids around us and, you know, our facilities and our atmosphere and then hopefully be able to, you know, bring their parents back and say, ‘Hey, I want to go see Missouri Western play football,’ and I think we, you know, we play an exciting brand,” Fenwick said. “I think it’s a great environment to come out for families and the kids to come see them play.”
While this was the only youth camp in the summer for Missouri Western Football, the team will still host four more camps for teams and prospects. As for the coaches, this was also an event to come together and run through drills they wanted to use down the road.
As for the differences between teaching second graders and college athletes, there’s not much of a difference in Fenwick’s eyes.
“It’s really the same, you know, coaching second graders and coaching college kids,” Fenwick said. “It’s obviously a lot more fun, you know, as far as just like there’s not the pressure, it’s more about getting out and running around with these kids.”
