AUBURN - There is still about a month before football players report for pre-season football practice and conditioning.
But for some young players, ages 12 to 14 from all over the county, the last two weeks have been an incredible learning experience. They have gathered at Seward Elementary's David's Field along with Auburn High varsity coach Dave Moskov to take part in Auburn's first NFL Junior Player Development (J.P.D.) program.
The program, which was developed and is sponsored by the NFL, was designed to help promote the sport and give younger players the opportunity to create a foundation they can use as they progress in their careers, whether it be in high school or beyond.
Word of the program spread quickly, drawing 115 players from Cayuga County.
“This has been really great,” Moskov said. “The response we got has been tremendous. I'd say about 80 percent of these kids are from Auburn and the rest are from all over the county, we have everyone represented here. It is a good group we got together.”
Some players, like Matt Tehan, 13, of Auburn, were quickly drawn to the program.
“When coach (Moskov) came to school to talk about it, it sounded like it would be a lot of fun,” Tehan said. “And I thought I could really learn a lot and my dad thought it would be a good idea, too.”
Each of the 12 days of the camp have been dedicated to various aspects of the game with one day focusing on kicking, another on receiving and another on tackling. This is all in an effort to give the players the opportunity to learn all the different aspects of the game.
Moskov believes that this kind of experience can only be beneficial in the long run for an athlete.
“These guys are still young and are still growing,” Moskov said. “And we don't know how they are going to grow. A lot of the time if you are a big kid you are going to get put out on the line and that will be it. But with this camp you get to try everything - passing and quarterback one day, tackling, kicking - all the basics of the game and all the different positions. It's everything to get to know the whole game better.”
This diversity and broader perspective on the game is a lesson that many of the players will take with them as they gear up for the upcoming season.
“I think all of this will help me play better,” said quarterback Jon Kudla, 13, of Port Byron. “We learned a lot about all the positions. I think tackling was a really big thing, like keeping your head to the side of the ball and keeping your head up. Things like that are really good to learn.”
Moskov was joined in instructing the camp by his fellow Auburn coaches. He said that this diversity was good for them as well.
“We all coach by position, too,” Moskov said. “So for all of us it has been a lot of fun to just work on the fundamentals and work on all the different parts of the game instead of just focusing on one part of it like we usually would. It has been a really good experience for us.”
As much as each day of the camp focused on different aspects of the game, it also focused in on some larger concepts. Ideas like relationship building; trust and respect were also heavily instilled in all the players.
“The No. 1 thing here is that everyone has a good time,” Moskov said. “These are guys that, for the most part, don't know each other, but in 12 days they have built the skills necessary to make a team and to trust each other and to respect each other's abilities. I think that is one of the really nice things about this camp. Each day we focus on how they can take these concepts and apply them when they go back to school and use them on their teams and in their community and in their everyday life, too.”
Moskov said that as much as the skills on the field, he hopes that each player can take these other concepts with them as well.
“I think everything we learned was really important,” said Joey Marinelli, 12, of Auburn. “A lot of these guys I know from school, but a lot of them I didn't know and now we're all friends and have learned how to work together like a team, which is really important.”
As an added bonus each participant got to take away a leather football, a new equipment bag and new jerseys, as well as various certificates of achievement and other daily rewards, all courtesy of the NFL.
After the impressive showing this first time out, Moskov hopes to make this a staple of Auburn football.
“We're definitely going to do this again next year,” Moskov said. “The response we've had from players and the support of all the parents has just been tremendous. We've had a lot of fun and we'll definitely being doing this again.”
But for now, players are just eager to get their season underway, armed with a little newfound knowledge of the game.
“I learned a lot of new techniques and skills,” Dominick Recckio, 13, of Port Byron, said. “I really liked working on all the different parts of the game and I think it is going to help a lot when this season starts. I can't wait.”
The program, which was developed and is sponsored by the NFL, was designed to help promote the sport and give younger players the opportunity to create a foundation they can use as they progress in their careers, whether it be in high school or beyond.
Word of the program spread quickly, drawing 115 players from Cayuga County.
“This has been really great,” Moskov said. “The response we got has been tremendous. I'd say about 80 percent of these kids are from Auburn and the rest are from all over the county, we have everyone represented here. It is a good group we got together.”
Some players, like Matt Tehan, 13, of Auburn, were quickly drawn to the program.
“When coach (Moskov) came to school to talk about it, it sounded like it would be a lot of fun,” Tehan said. “And I thought I could really learn a lot and my dad thought it would be a good idea, too.”
Each of the 12 days of the camp have been dedicated to various aspects of the game with one day focusing on kicking, another on receiving and another on tackling. This is all in an effort to give the players the opportunity to learn all the different aspects of the game.
Moskov believes that this kind of experience can only be beneficial in the long run for an athlete.
“These guys are still young and are still growing,” Moskov said. “And we don't know how they are going to grow. A lot of the time if you are a big kid you are going to get put out on the line and that will be it. But with this camp you get to try everything - passing and quarterback one day, tackling, kicking - all the basics of the game and all the different positions. It's everything to get to know the whole game better.”
This diversity and broader perspective on the game is a lesson that many of the players will take with them as they gear up for the upcoming season.
“I think all of this will help me play better,” said quarterback Jon Kudla, 13, of Port Byron. “We learned a lot about all the positions. I think tackling was a really big thing, like keeping your head to the side of the ball and keeping your head up. Things like that are really good to learn.”
Moskov was joined in instructing the camp by his fellow Auburn coaches. He said that this diversity was good for them as well.
“We all coach by position, too,” Moskov said. “So for all of us it has been a lot of fun to just work on the fundamentals and work on all the different parts of the game instead of just focusing on one part of it like we usually would. It has been a really good experience for us.”
As much as each day of the camp focused on different aspects of the game, it also focused in on some larger concepts. Ideas like relationship building; trust and respect were also heavily instilled in all the players.
“The No. 1 thing here is that everyone has a good time,” Moskov said. “These are guys that, for the most part, don't know each other, but in 12 days they have built the skills necessary to make a team and to trust each other and to respect each other's abilities. I think that is one of the really nice things about this camp. Each day we focus on how they can take these concepts and apply them when they go back to school and use them on their teams and in their community and in their everyday life, too.”
Moskov said that as much as the skills on the field, he hopes that each player can take these other concepts with them as well.
“I think everything we learned was really important,” said Joey Marinelli, 12, of Auburn. “A lot of these guys I know from school, but a lot of them I didn't know and now we're all friends and have learned how to work together like a team, which is really important.”
As an added bonus each participant got to take away a leather football, a new equipment bag and new jerseys, as well as various certificates of achievement and other daily rewards, all courtesy of the NFL.
After the impressive showing this first time out, Moskov hopes to make this a staple of Auburn football.
“We're definitely going to do this again next year,” Moskov said. “The response we've had from players and the support of all the parents has just been tremendous. We've had a lot of fun and we'll definitely being doing this again.”
But for now, players are just eager to get their season underway, armed with a little newfound knowledge of the game.
“I learned a lot of new techniques and skills,” Dominick Recckio, 13, of Port Byron, said. “I really liked working on all the different parts of the game and I think it is going to help a lot when this season starts. I can't wait.”
