Registration open for Mustangs youth football camps: Redmond looking to build into a powerhouse

In a tough football league like Kingco 4A, success for a certain program over another often comes down to a numbers game. The Redmond High School team, which has not had a winning season since 2007, had only slightly more than half the turnout as powerhouse Bothell High, which has won the league title five times in the last 10 years. The numbers don't lie – the Cougars turned out 164 players last fall in grades 9-12, the Mustangs just 85.

By Tim Watanabe • March 7, 2012 5:13 pm
A group of Mustang Junior Football players scrimmage against Eastlake's team last fall at Redmond High School. The Redmond High football program will be holding its inaugural youth camp this summer in an effort to increase depth and turnout for future years.
A group of Mustang Junior Football players scrimmage against Eastlake's team last fall at Redmond High School. The Redmond High football program will be holding its inaugural youth camp this summer in an effort to increase depth and turnout for future years.

In a tough football league like Kingco 4A, success for a certain program over another often comes down to a numbers game.

The Redmond High School team, which has not had a winning season since 2007, had only slightly more than half the turnout as powerhouse Bothell High, which has won the league title five times in the last 10 years.

The numbers don’t lie – the Cougars turned out 164 players last fall in grades 9-12, the Mustangs just 85.

Jordan Flowers, an offensive and wide receivers coach for the Mustangs, along with head coach Jeff Chandler, said they believe that the Mustangs will one day be spoken about in the same breath as Bothell and 4A state champion Skyline.

But one thing is clear – the process of getting there starts far below the high school level.

“We feel whole-heartedly that the youth program is going to be the life of our program,” Flowers said. “We are just trying to reach out and build the most positive and fundamentally-sound community to build this program from the start.”

 

WINNING ATTITUDES

To get the youth program jump-started, the Mustangs will be hosting their first-annual Youth Football Camp for boys entering third through eighth grades this July 10-12 at the high school.

With a registration fee of $105, the camps will focus heavily on instruction on fundamentals, but will also include well-known sports personalities as guest speakers, daily competition, contests, prizes and snacks.

After getting the word out too late to hold the inaugural camp last summer, Flowers, the camp director, has set a lofty goal this time around.

“I’ve set a goal personally for 125 minimum,” he said about the anticipated attendance. “We’re shooting for over 200.”

For those parents who may be apprehensive about letting their youngster play football at a young age, Flowers said that there are only positives about kids getting exposed to the nation’s most popular sport.

“We’re going to be teaching a positive attitude, a championship attitude,” he explained. “It’s actually teaching their kids in a fun, safe environment the foundational building blocks to be a solid football player. It’s a great way for parents to get their kids active, get them encouraged, and hear some good motivational speaking from major athletes.”

 

ATHLETIC DIVERSITY

Flowers, who grew up in Redmond and graduated from Eastlake High in 2002, also spoke to the issue of specialization in high school athletics.

Nowadays, many talented athletes are being encouraged to stick with one sport and do it exceptionally well, rather than broadening their horizons – making the true two and three-sport athlete an increasingly rare breed.

If that sport is not football, Flowers noted that it limits the Mustangs’ talent pool. He added that the range of motions one learns from playing multiple sports is vital to becoming a more complete athlete.

“We love kids playing multiple sports, we encourage kids to play baseball, to play basketball,” he said, adding that legendary University of Washington football coach Don James required his athletes to play dual sports. “We want to encourage those kids focusing on one sport, to try (football) and get a little more athleticism.”

Conner Floan, for example, is a two-sport star for the Mustangs having been a force on the defensive line and at tight end in the fall, before helping lead the basketball team to within one win of a Regionals berth.

Michael Conforto, currently playing baseball at Oregon State, was also the starting quarterback for the Mustangs in his junior and senior years of high school.

“You’re just an all-around better athlete when you diversify,” Flowers said.

For more information about the camps, email Flowers at flowers.jordan@gmail.com. To download and print a registration form, visit the Redmond Junior Mustangs website at www.redmondmustangs.org.