ShawneeDispatch.com

With summer now officially underway, most high school athletes have begun to refocus their attention on local baseball or summer basketball teams, but for the future football players at Mill Valley High School, all that was put on hold last week.

For five consecutive days, both veteran and aspiring Jaguar football players laced up their cleats and participated in Mill Valley's annual summer football camp run by Jaguar football coach George Radell.

During the week-long camp, everyone from freshmen to seniors participated in drills and plays and learned just what is takes to be a member of the Jaguars' football family.

"What we try to do in camp is introduce as many concepts in hopes of initiating the newer players while refreshing the older players so that they can pick up where they left off last season," Radell said. "But most importantly the goal is to introduce everything, so that when August comes around, the players are somewhat familiar with what we try to accomplish in a practice during the season."

Radell's camp is also unique in that it is hosted at the start of the season, as opposed to most camps, which kick off just before summer practices begin during the month of August.

And while Mill Valley's approach may be somewhat different, the verdict to start the camp in the early months of summer was made with the players' best interests in mind.

"We decided to have our camp at the start of summer because we thought we could get better learning sessions in with the players if we weren't fighting high temperatures the entire time," Radell said.

So far, the choice has paid off, with the exception of a few unwanted rain showers.

"Every year we designate a rain day," Radell said. "But often times a little rain makes camp that much more fun for the players, and while it is hard to teach in the rain, it is easier than if you are facing 100 degree heat."

Another reason Radell and his coaching staff prefer to start the camp early is that it gives the players time to prepare for the upcoming season and allows the younger players to evaluate and address their game against proven high school athletes.

"One of our main objectives in having the camp early is to try and spike the players' enthusiasm for what we will be doing in August," Radell said. "That way, we can get the players excited and started in the weight room so that they can be prepared when preseason practices begin."

As for this year's camp, Radell Radell was excited with the turnout, and the number of underclassmen who came ready to tackle their first high school football practice head-on.

"This year, the coaches and I were all impressed with the freshman class," Radell said. "We were excited with the number of quality individuals who showed up, and were pleased to see a group of kids who were easy to coach and enthusiastic about being there. It made for a great football atmosphere, and I think everyone, including us coaches, had a lot of fun out there."

For the remainder of the summer, Mill Valley players will compete in 7-on-7 scrimmages against other football teams in their league in hopes of applying some polish to their games before next season kicks off.