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Friday, Feb 07th

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You are here: Sports Features Miyamura gives back with football camp

Miyamura gives back with football camp

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Instead of seeing the summer as a break, the Miyamura football team uses their free time to give back to the community by hosting a youth football camp. The camp allows kids from first to eighth grade the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of football from the older teens.

In an interview with the Sun Miyamura’s assistant football coach Jobe Ramirez talked about how the camp can really help kids by not only teaching them about football, but also giving them social skills as well.

“It’s just important for these kids to learn fundamentals and to be in a group setting and learning how to play with other kids and meet other kids who like the same thing,” Ramirez said. “I just think it’s a great thing for the community.”

During the four-day camp, which took place from July 8-11 this year, the high school team teaches the younger kids drills and the basic fundamentals of the sport. They try to make it fun by also doing competitions, seeing who can kick the furthest and who can pass the fastest.

At the end of each day three campers won their own goodie bags in honor of their hard work.

Some of the seniors have been leading this camp for four years now. Senior Owen Willeto said he really enjoys the work he does with the kids.

“My favorite part about the camp is interacting with the kids and teaching them about football,” Willeto said.

A lot of the other seniors agreed with Willeto, saying it’s always fun to teach the kids the fundamentals. But Willeto admitted there can be challenges when it comes to working with youngsters.

“The hardest part is getting them to pay attention and listen sometimes,” he said. “It doesn’t happen all the time though.”

At the end of the four-day camp the team and kids celebrate all that they learned by letting out any excess energy and cooling down with a Slip-and-Slide. The water provides a nice cool down during the hot summer days.

Ramirez said battling the July heat when they’re running football drills can definitely be a challenge.

“The heat is the hardest part,” he said. “It’s a bit of a challenge because we have to keep the kids hydrated, so we have scheduled breaks between everything we do, but we also don’t shy away from taking extra breaks because the most important thing is keeping the kids safe and hydrated.”

 

RAISING MONEY

The camp serves as a fundraiser for the football team.

Team mom Elgia Begay said they raised $3,000 this year. The money goes toward the team’s bus fees, new jerseys, and better equipment. The team moms will also sell T-shirts during the fall season to support the team.

Begay said that the Gallup-McKinley County Schools district made some budget changes this year, and asked the sports teams to pay their own bus fees this year.

She also mentioned that one of the fundraising goals is helping the team see other parts of New Mexico besides the local area of McKinley County. She said they hope to play a game in Roswell next year.

By Molly Ann Howell
Managing Editor