HSU Insider

Success On and Off the Field

• By Janlyn Echols Thaxton
• Posted June 26, 2009 8:36 PM
• 1 Comment

Luke Luttrell sports a bandage that's close to three-quarters of an inch thick on his calf. His leg seems to bother him a little, but you might expect that after three full days of football camp.

On both sides of Simmons Street, which runs through the campus and by the playing fields, there are football players literally everywhere. Most have on white or gray tee shirts with the arms cut out. The players' names are printed across the shoulders; some scribbled in Marks-A-Lot, others a little neater with iron-on letters.

The Air It Out passing camp at Hardin-Simmons University has grown to be so large that offensive coordinator and HSU assistant coach Alan Wartes decided to split it into three separate groups over 12-days.

Luke is just about to finish with the first group of campers, all juniors and seniors in high school next year. He will be the quarterback for Irving High School this fall and did not want to miss his third year at the popular Air It Out overnight camp.

Tooter Draper, who is a football coach at Cisco High School, is one of many coaches who spend the last half of June each year coaching players from all over the state. In fact, Draper's son Ryan will be playing football for the first time in the fall and will be among the youngest group of campers here next week.

In one of the drills, twelve-player groups, split into two lines with the receivers running a gauntlet of imaginary defensive players. Jared Simpson of Hallsville is in the quarterback line. He says this is his second year for the camp and it has definitely helped with building strength in his throwing arm.

This year is Trevor Owens seventh summer. The tight end from Monohans says it's great conditioning and it has helped him to run crisper routes.

Meanwhile, since this is the last day for the older players, parents have begun to line the perimeter of the fields. Rebecca Lance stayed in Abilene during the camp. Her son Zachary will be a junior player for the Sudan Hornets. "Zachary gets so much out of this camp," she says. "He really enjoys coming here to see friends from past camps."

The last item of business on the agenda is a speech from coach Wartes. A sea of football players began to form a 350-man semicircle around Wartes. "I want you to be great at playing football," Wartes tells the players. "More importantly, all of us here want you to be a good person. There are 50 or 60 Christian coaches who are here to help you. If you need help, call us."

"Luke 2:52 says 'Jesus advanced in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men.'"I want you to be like that," instructs Wartes. "Be a good studier in school, grow intellectually, spiritually, and take care of your body." Wartes continues, "Don't drink and drive. Make good decisions and learn to interact with people."

"We get a kick out of watching you be successful football players. But what thrills us the most is to see you be successful in life."

As for Luke, he expects his leg will be better in a week or so. The bandage he wore throughout the camp was to protect a leg full of 16 stitches. Luke is quick to point out that the injury did not happen at camp, "I walked into a license plate a week and a half ago." Luke says, "I just couldn't miss the camp. It's the best one I've been to. I get more one-on-one coaching time here and it has improved my mechanics. We also get to practice with players on all levels in all divisions. It really makes us better."

There is one more camp to go for Wartes and the other 50 or so coaches. The youngest group arrives on campus beginning next week. Upcoming seventh and eighth graders will check onto Behrens and Lange dorms on Tuesday for a camp they are likely to attend for many summers to come.

D.J. Betik, a senior from Ennis, has been coming to the HSU camp since his seventh grade summer. "It's a great workout, a great atmosphere, and a great refresher course before the start of the season."