C.R. Titans connect with area kids through camps

CENTER POINT – While the Cedar Rapids Titans have spent the week preparing for Saturday's regular-season finale at the Sioux Falls Storm, a few members of the team found time to work with some area kids.

The Titans hosted 28 youngsters – ages 6-14 – at Fross Park for the first of six summer youth football camps.

'We just take them through the basic football measures,” Titans receiver Willie Carter said. 'Agilities, straight-line speed, changing direction. Basically, learn how to catch and most of all, we try to instill being a team player and not being selfish – accountability.”

The four-day camps have been a summer fixture since the franchise arrived in Cedar Rapids in 2012. The five remaining camps will extend into the first week of August, with locations ranging from two visits to the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena, two in Hiawatha and one in Marion.

12-year-old Alex Besick, who will be a seventh grader this fall at Center Point-Urbana Middle School, is attending the camp for the third year in a row and has played football since the fifth grade.

'To see the players and have fun with them,” Besick said when asked what keeps him coming back. 'It's been pretty cool. It's been an inspiration.”

Besick and the other day campers begin the day at 10 a.m. with warmups that include a visit from sports vision specialists Active Evolutions, which seek to improve hand-eye coordination. The kids then work on basic football fundamentals before a brief scrimmage, then lunch.

'They like to compete,” Carter said. 'In a camp, it's all about competing and they love to compete about everything, the smallest thing. That's a positive to see how well they compete at this early age in life.”

Carter and fellow receivers Jordan Cotton, Bryan Pray and Justin Helwege have worked in pairs during the week. Typically, Carter and Cotton start the day, while Pray and Helwege take over for the afternoon session of more advanced drills and situational plays.

'The Titans are out here trying to reach out to the community and have a positive image,” said Cotton, who is on season-ending injured reserve and will join the Cedar Rapids Jefferson sophomore football team as a full-time assistant in August. 'You see us on game days, we're out there working hard. You still want to give back to the community, give back to the kids and let them know we're part of the community.”

The Titans have utilized the kids' thirst for competition by turning each drill into a game or competition. The group is divided into two teams, captains are selected and the kids are taught that each individual is accountable to their team. Whether it's selecting quarterbacks, team names, or staying on task and on time, the needs of the team come first.

'You can see how they hold each other accountable,” Carter said. 'They make decisions for themselves as a group. There's no arguing, they don't fuss at each other. When they make a decision, they roll with it whether it's right or wrong.”

Between drills, the kids pepper the athletes with questions that usually revolve around – you guessed it, competition. They want to know which Titan can throw the farthest, who can kick the farthest and who can do the most jumping jacks. One might expect a group of conditioned professional athletes would routinely send the kids home exhausted, but to hear Carter tell it, it might be the other way around.

'Some of them are exceptional athletes,” Carter said. 'They'll leave the football camp after six hours and go to a baseball game. They just keep going. They don't get tired, they don't complain, nothing. They just keep going.”

Regardless of the outcome Saturday against the Storm (13-0), the Titans (9-4) will return to Sioux Falls the following week for the United Conference championship game. Next week's winner will then advance to the United Bowl.

l Comments: douglas.miles@thegazette.com