MOSES LAKE – The Moses Lake Youth Football Camp, hosted by the Mavericks football tea,m concluded Wednesday. The camp was held July 28, 29 and 30 and was open to youth from kindergarten to eighth grade. 

“I just love the environment, these little kids are out here having fun,” said Carson Huberdeau, who is a senior on the Mavs football team this year. “This is fun for us, coaching, it’s awesome.” 

Cass Stewart, who will be a freshman on the Mavs football team this year, said this was his first year playing football and that he decided to join the sport because of the bonds he has seen players form on the team. He said his favorite part of coaching at the camp was getting to watch the young players improve. 

Taggart Rathman will be a junior on the team, making this his third year participating in the camp. He said he has enjoyed the opportunity to put in extra work and act as a role model for the younger players who come out there. 

“I’m getting them to love the game of football,” he said. 

Rathman said he started his own football career in a youth flag football group much like the players he is teaching. He said he wants to get the kids as much experience as possible to prepare them for the high school level of play. 

“The camp is just so beneficial for everybody,” said Mavs head football coach Brett Jay. “Our youth football players are getting better, but also it’s so good for our high school players to give back and to teach (the youth) the same drills that we do at the high school level.” 

Tyson Olson, president of the Moses Lake Jr Maverick Football program, who assists Jay in putting together the camp, said this year was the first time that the camp was held on Lions Field, which allowed the athletes to play on the same field that they would see the varsity team on.  

This year’s camp hosted around 300 youth athletes and featured 14 drills with seven offensive drills on the left side of the field and seven defensive drills on the right side. Players attending the camp were allowed to participate in whatever drills they wanted to do and spent about five minutes per station, said Jay.  

“They broke the kids up into different age groups,” said Olson. “They split the different age groups up and then the kids just alternate (going) from one station to the next.” 

The offensive side featured two quarterback drills involving foot, two wide receiver drills and two offensive line drills, along with a running back drill. One of the biggest points of interest was to teach the youth offensive line how to do zone stack drills for all those who run zone, said Jay. 

“It’s a difficult concept to teach even middle school and high schoolers, so it’s neat to introduce it to our youth at such a young age,” he said. 

Olson said one point they have made at the camp is to design a number of drills to teach safe tackling skills. He said the importance of safety has taken the forefront of their focus at the camps over the years. 

The camp is led by the high school football players and overseen by the football staff. Jay said the biggest takeaway for the high school players from the camp is learning the responsibility of keeping a drill organized and keeping players engaged and on task. 

“Some of them are a year away from being out there in the real world and others are two or three years,” he said. “It’s just a great opportunity for them to lead something of their own and evaluate how the drill goes.” 

Rathman said coaching at the camp provided him and his teammates the opportunity the chance to build their teamwork skills. 

“These guys are working together, getting a drill, and we’re communicating,” he said. “I think this is really going to help our team moral.” 

For youth players, the camp provides them an opportunity to come out, play football and interact with both the older players in the community and the high school coaching staff, said Olson. The camp also gives the youth in Moses Lake an early start on learning the high school drills and prepares them to learn the fundamental skills for the future of their football careers. 

“It definitely helps them get better at football, learn the basics and just having fun with the kids their age,” said Rathman. “I did this growing up and I have memories of this and it’s just awesome that I’m able to help these kids out and do the same for them.” 

The Moses Lake Youth Football camp marks the conclusion of the summer for the football players as they enter the final weeks before the first two-a-day practice, which will be Aug. 20 this year, said Jay. 

“It’s just a great way to conclude the football portion of our summer and is (there) to give back to our youth,” he said. “It’s a positive piece to our community that we’re grateful that we get to lead.” 

    A youth player tackles a ring during one of the exercises at the Moses Lake Youth Football Camp. Tyson Olson who helps Mavs coach Brett Jay organize the camp said that one of the focuses that they have made for the camp is safety.
  

    One of the female athletes at the camp works on a quarterback exercise based on pocket movement. With the addition of girls flag football to the WIAA Tyson Olson said he expects to see an increase in girls attending the camp.
  

    A youth player makes contact with a Mavs player during an exercise based around tackling. This is the camp's fifth year of operations and the first year they got to host it on Lions Field.
  

    A youth player prepares to throw the ball during one of the quarterback drills at the football camp. Cass Stewart, a freshman on the Mavs this year, worked with players in this exercise and said he enjoyed the opportunity to coach the younger players.