Twenty youngsters tested their gridiron skills Monday evening at the Mustang Football Youth Skills camp at Riverside Park.
The camp continues through Thursday giving kids in grades third through fifth the chance to work on football fundamentals.
Iola High School head coach David Daugharthy is the camp’s architect.
“Today we worked on basic offensive stuff. Kids went through different stations that involve quarterback, running back, receiver, and lineman drills to learn the basics,” Daugharthy said. “Tuesday, we will work on some defensive skills and then maybe have some sort of competition at the end.”
Kids will focus on offense again Wednesday, and then touch up their defensive skills on Thursday before ending the camp with a planned competition. Daugharthy also hoped — if numbers permit — to allow campers to compete in 7v7 games.
Assisting Daugharthy is a large group of current Mustangs, who are helping their understudies one step at a time.
“Today we had more here than we did at morning weights,” Daugharthy said jokingly. “I think they enjoy interacting with the kids, and I think the kids enjoy interacting more with them than me.
Iola Mustangs youth football president John Taylor said working with the high-schoolers inspires the youngsters to play football as they get older.
“They enjoy it a lot because they are the kids who they look to be like some day,” Taylor said. “We’ve had some really good guys be in the newspaper like Isaac Badders and Logan Brown. So getting to work with the guys they look up to is a big thing for them.
Iola youth football’s fifth and sixth grade team is coming off a stellar season. The Mustangs finished the season with a 5-3 mark, with two losses coming via overtime heartbreaks.
Taylor believes the Mustangs are in for more good fortune this season, if it happens.
“Last year’s team was mostly fifth-graders, so having a good season like that in a fifth and sixth grade league is really good,” Taylor said.
As for the high school Mustangs, Daugharthy hopes for a winning season. The Kansas State High School Activities Association is yet to give its plan for fall sports. At the moment, football games have a strong chance of being played.
Last season Iola finished with an unsatisfying 2-7 record. In the first game of the season, Iola lost starting quarterback Bradyn Cole in a five-overtime loss against Parsons.
Cole will be back along with a talented senior class which gives Daugharthy plenty of reason to be optimistic this season.
