Cardinal Camp returns for 19th season

ABOVE: A Fairmont football player snags a tennis ball during a drill at the Fairmont High School football Cardinal Camp on Monday.
FAIRMONT – It’s never too early to start thinking about football for Fairmont coach Mat Mahoney.
With the famous Cardinal Camp starting this week, kids of all age groups flock to learn the Xs and Os preached by the Fairmont High School program.
This year’s camp is held from July 21-24 at the Fairmont High School football practice field, consisting of two different sessions each day that hold a wide variety of age groups.
The first practice holds kids between the fourth and sixth grades. Going from 9-10:30 a.m., this workout is designed to learn the fundamentals and techniques of the sport, mixing in as much fun as possible along the way.
“It’s set up for the guys to get the original taste of how we do things here,” Mahoney said. “They love to compete, so we will do a punt-pass-kick, 40-yard dash, tug-of-war, and then they love the obstacle course. When we first started this, we wanted the kids to enjoy it.”
Mahoney and his coaching staff use this practice to let his team’s upperclassmen guide the younger participants. After being explained the exercise by the coaches, players are tasked with making sure their group of kids executes the procedure.
“They really kind of run the camp in general,” Mahoney said. “As coaches, we show them how to do the drill, and then the kids take over. It lets us[the coaches] kind of step back, which is kind of fun.”
While some of these aspects are similar for the second group of athletes, the overall seriousness of the session is ramped up.
Grades seven through 12 meet up from 5-7 p.m. later in the day. After splitting up into certain position groups, players work through drills to help better prepare for the high school level.
“It is a fine line,” Mahoney said when asked about balancing the fun and work. “We want to keep it light this time of the year because we are just hoping to have a long season. That’s a big part of it.”
Mahoney has seen the biggest turnout ever recorded in this age group. With 125 athletes participating during Monday night’s festivities, more than Mahoney has seen during his 19 years of running this program.
“When I first started, I think we were at 110,” Mahoney said. “It’s kind of been in that 110 to 115 range forever. But there are a lot of kids here tonight, which is awesome.”