McKenzie High School Hosts Youth Football Camp

McKENZIE (July 20) — Coach Keith Hodge and the McKenzie High School Rebels hosted the third annual Youth Football Camp Monday evening at the indoor practice facility.

Over 90 kids participated in the two-hour camp. The event started with agility and warm-ups, then rotated in smaller groups at stations to focus on learning specific skills such as passing, receiving, tackling and kicking.

The event closed with a receiving competition and a "postgame huddle."

Coach Hodge spoke to The Banner about the camp. "Another great turnout from the community. It's great to see all the kids out here, learning football skills. We're doing more tackling this year, which is great for the kids. We're just trying to get them excited about football season. This is a great way to get them going.

"It's a really good turnout. Being year three, we've still got a lot of kids coming. That says they like being a part of it.

"The main thing is it's for the kids, for the community. Making our high school kids get around the younger kids who look up to them. Making a connection between coaches, the youth and our high school football players, that's always good.

"We've got some other things we're going to do. The meet-and-greet is going to be big, where we'll get them together again. The more community events we can do, the better."

The Rebels Meet-and-Greet is Saturday, August 8 from 5:30-9:30 p.m. at Rebel Stadium. Participating in the event will be the high school and middle school football teams, bands and cheerleaders, as well as the McKenzie Youth Football League.