School is coming

When local summer camps hit, it is a fresh reminder that school is right around the corner.

Last Wednesday I visited the North Country Basketball Camp as well as the Mustang Football Camp. Both camps had a decent amount of participants.

It was great seeing all of the youth in both of these camps, but it also reminded me of how long I have been here in Phillips County.

I know in the grand scheme of things that five years is not a long time. I also know that some of these kids have grown a lot in five years and is crazy to me to think that some of these incoming freshmen were just leaving third grade when I first arrived here. Some of the fourth graders weren’t even in kindergarten and organized sports were just a thought.

I also saw during North Country’s camp that kids are learning the game of basketball at a pretty quick pace and you can see both discipline and talent among the youth.

One kid, a sixth grader had one of the nastiest jab-step I had seen from a young lady and then she proceeded to knock the shot down after nearly faking another camper out of her shoes.

Another cool thing was seeing the coaches that were at the camp. I have had the honor of writing stories about a few of them, a couple of which are still playing at the college level or competing in other sports.

I also saw a difference in our football team. The Mustangs have a new head coach this season and seeing him in action with those athletes during camp was inspiring.

Obviously taking nothing away from the old coaches, but I can only imagine how tough it is to try to teach new language and plays to students who have learned under an old system.

Patience and poise was evident with not only the coaching staff but the campers as well.

The fact that summer is ending can be a sad thing, but I can’t wait to experience a new year of high school sports. I look forward to seeing how teams will step up from the new senior class all the way down to the freshman class.