FREDDY GONZALEZ | Staff Writer
WESLACO — Two things are certain during Texas summers: Sweltering, ungodly temperatures and, of course, high school football camps.
Friday morning more than 130 participants braved the early morning sun to attend the 11th annual Lil’ Panther Football Camp at the Bobby Lackey Football Stadium in Weslaco.
The two-day camp welcomed youths from first grade to incoming high school freshman with former camp attendees Desi Rodriguez and Brian Guerra both taking time to help out.
With the artificial turf under their feet, campers learned everything from the basics of football to the safety measures of the modern game.
“With the younger kids we want to teach them the fundamentals of the positions,” said Weslaco High’s offensive coordinator John Calvillo.
“For the incoming freshmen we want to have an idea of their skills and where we are going to put them once they get here. Basically it’s just to teach them the basic fundamentals like how to get in a stance, how to run, how to hold and throw a football for the quarterbacks, and to try and make it as fun as possible.”
From 9 to 11 a.m. participants gained valuable knowledge of the game. However, with safety concerns making headlines lately, the coaches on hand took time to focus on proper techniques.
“Safety is key. We taught them proper tackling techniques,” said Calvillo. “Safety has been a big issue these past couple of years, especially with concussions, so we teach them mainly how to tackle. We don’t go full contact but we teach them the basic tools on that and just safety in general.
“Around the state the numbers of football players have gone down and I think it’s just the parents worrying about the safety issue.”
The Weslaco Panthers kick off the 2015 football season at Harlingen South on Aug. 28 before knocking on Donna’s door a week later for Fox Sports Southwest’s “DQ Big Game of the Week.”
This year, the rivalry that dates back as far as 1923, is once again in the spotlight.