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Over 200 youth football players in the Chelsea area closed out the summer with evenings of fun skills development on the brand-new Chelsea High School field during the latest edition of the Chelsea Football Camp. (For the Reporter/Dawn Harrison)

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

CHELSEA – Hundreds of young football players from around the Chelsea area got to step onto the new Chelsea High School stadium turf for the first time when they learned from Hornets coaches and players at the Chelsea Football Camp on Aug. 5 and 6.

“It was really good,” Chelsea head football coach Todd Cassity said. “We had over 200 campers and everybody seemed to enjoy it and the coaches enjoyed having them, so it was a good camp.”

The Hornets welcomed about 210 kids across the two-day event which saw tackle football players learn skills on Monday, Aug. 5 before the team hosted flag football players the next night on Tuesday, Aug. 6.

No matter what format of football they play, the campers got to learn essential football skills to take into their upcoming season from the same players they will watch take the field on Friday nights in just a few short weeks.

“Just a lot of fundamental skills,” Cassity said. “How to catch, how to get in stance, how to tackle, we use the donut bags to tackle, so just a lot of different skills like that.”

Cassity saw a great turnout from his coaches and players to run the camp. Some of them even stayed at the school past when they usually left to help out with the evenings and teach the next generation.

“All of our coaches were involved, a lot of our older players stayed and helped them out, so it was good to have those guys helping teach those young kids,” Cassity said. “Those young kids look up to those older guys.”

That last part is very important to Cassity as he knows how much his players are role models within the community. He was proud to see his players giving out high fives and fist bumps to the kids and help them have fun throughout the camp, bringing smiles to their faces.

He hopes that the kids will continue looking up to his players and model their best traits.

“The main thing is our younger kids just looking up to them and trying to model what those older kids are doing,” Cassity said.

Cassity’s biggest goal for the week was reinforcing the kids’ love for the game while building their pride in their football team.

With renovations now completed on Chelsea High School’s new turf and home side bleachers in addition to the previously completed locker room and weight room, kids got to see the new facilities for themselves, and the hope is that they will continue playing football and one day play in those facilities themselves.

“It’s just something to hopefully create that continuity that those guys will eventually be varsity Chelsea Hornet football players, so that’s the biggest thing,” Cassity said. “We want those guys to be on our turf, see the new facilities and hopefully that builds their momentum going forward in the future.”

Cassity thanked Bart Pettus and the City of Chelsea Parks and Recreation department for their efforts in another successful edition of the youth football camp.

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