Detroit Lions summer football camp visits Alpena

News Photo by Steve Schulwitz
Area kids work on blocking skills during the Detroit Lions Summer Camp drill at Wildcat Stadium on Sunday. Each student got a chance to learn skills for the offensive and defensive positions.

ALPENA — More than 100 area youth worked on their football skills during the Detroit Lions Summer Camp, which was held over the weekend at Alpena High School.

The kids received instruction from dozens of highly qualified high school and college coaches that will help them sharpen their techniques and knowledge for offense, defense, and special team positions.

Chris Fritzsching, executive director of football education for the Lions, said the Lions summer camp is in its 21st season and third straight in Alpena. He said the goal of the camp is to provide instruction to the kids they will benefit while practicing, playing, or watching the game. He said over the weekend, each student will rotate through position groups and have a chance to partake in passing, receiving, blocking, rushing, and other drills.

All of the coaches interacted with the kids by barking instructions and providing the encouragement and constructive criticism the kids need to improve their skills.

“The focus is to provide a fundamental concept and core of all the positions on both sides of the football,” Fritzsching said. “We hope we will be able to provide them a little position flexibility and understanding of who they all work and they all work together. I think the teamwork concept is the most important thing in this game. One of the most important jobs of any coach is to instill confidence in a child and we hope we can do that.”

Fritzsching said the kids will obviously learn skills associated with the game, but the camp’s instruction also builds life skills the kids will need as they move into adulthood and their careers. He said the Lions and all of the coaches know many traits associated with team sports have a trickle-down effect on people’s everyday lives.

During the camp, Fritzsching said, coaches stress the team’s five points of pride. He said those are determined, courageous, noble, ferocious, and united. He said those are all characteristics of a lion. He said the points of pride resonated with the kids.

“Football just happens to be the medium in which we teach life skills,” he said. “There is teamwork, comradery, the friendships, the relationships, the failures, the successes they will experience. The kids learn the importance of all of those and more, and that helps prepare them for real life.”

On Saturday, the kids worked inside the high school because of the heavy rain in the Alpena area. But, on Sunday, they were able to get out onto the football field to conduct the drills.

Many family and friends watched from the grandstands as the kids worked elbow to elbow with one another and the coaches who led instruction.

Fritzsching said the success of the Detroit Lions last season has helped to increase interest in the sport and the kids and Alpena community have expressed their love and support for the team as it prepares to pursue a Super Bowl win this upcoming season.

“We are conducting 25 camps this summer and with registration beginning on March 1, and we sold all of them out within minutes,” Fritzsching said. “We have a waiting list for all of our camps and the interest surrounding the team is still strong. The kids are excited about it, we promote the players and it is really neat to see because the Lions’ roar really brought everyone together and it has only gotten stronger during the offseason.”

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.com.