BUTTE — For Montana Tech head football coach Kyle Samson, this week's youth football camp hosted by the Orediggers was all about getting back to basics and remembering the core reasons why he loves this sport.
"It kind of reminds you why you coach and you play, cause it's fun," said Samson on Tuesday at Bob Green Field. "The kids come out on the turf and they think it's the coolest thing ever. It kind of rejuvenates me and rejuvenates our players and coaches."
A couple hundred kindergarten through 8th graders participated in the two day annual camp that ran from Monday to Tuesday. The fourth through 8th graders split up into teams and played a round robin series of games to determine a camp champion.
With this age group, the primary goal was simply to get kids excited about being on a field and playing football.
"The whole purpose is to spread the love of football, teach them what we know," said Tech senior running back Blake Counts. "The ultimate goal is to have a whole lot of fun."
For Samson and Counts, leading the camp was a full-circle moment as they looked back on the people who invested in their football pursuits when they were kids.
"We've got to remember that when we were little we looked up to the college kids, the high school seniors," said Samson. "And now that we're in a position as coaches and players, just making sure we're giving back to the community and trying to teach the game, and do it the right way."
Said Counts: "Just being able to spread my knowledge a little bit to them and then just teach what I know to the next generation. Hopefully they can be great."
A few other notable youth football camps are set to take place in the area over the next week. Colt Anderson will host his Dream Big Montana skills camp at Naranche Stadium on Friday at 11 a.m. and current Atlanta Falcons' linebacker Troy Andersen will host a camp at Vigilante Stadium in Dillon on June. 28 at noon.
