LIHU‘E — The 2011-12 school year is not yet over, but football officials from the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation were already on the field Saturday. Some of the older division players who attended the Chad Owens football camp coordinated by Teddy
LIHU‘E — The 2011-12 school year is not yet over, but football officials from the Kaua‘i Interscholastic Federation were already on the field Saturday.
Some of the older division players who attended the Chad Owens football camp coordinated by Teddy Arroyo, commissioner for the Kaua‘i Pop Warner Football Association and coach for Kaua‘i High School, took the field in an impromptu gathering of a 7-on-7 Passing Tournament at Vidinha Stadium.
“There is paperwork being done with the KIF on a passing league which is scheduled to start in June, if everything goes according to plan,” Arroyo said. “Since the boys were already here for the Chad Owens camp, we thought this would be a nice way for the boys to get a preview of what is being worked on.”
Shawn McGurn, one of the KIF football officials working the line, said the passing league has been around on O‘ahu for a very long time and was glad to see it finally made its way over to Kaua‘i.
Under the rules of Saturday’s “tournament,” players on the offensive team had three downs to reach the 30-yard line from midfield, and if successful, another three downs to make it into the end zone, defended by the team throughout the drive.
Arroyo said the coaches from Kapa‘a and Waimea high school had earlier stopped by the Chad Owens camp which featured more than 100 kids in the older division, or high school-aged players, and about 60 of the younger players.
Players choosing to participate in the informal game were broken down into three teams, combining all of the players with a double elimination format to end before the sun set.
“This is really good for the kids,” one parent observing the action said. “The seniors must be eating their heart out because they can see how much fun the kids are having. But seriously, this is something good because it allows the kids an opportunity to play defense and learn to run the routes while the quarterback learns how to read.”
Kapa‘a coach Keli‘i Morgado, earlier in the year, spoke about how he used to play in the passing league during the days he played in high school.
Morgado, who was trying to establish a program for the Garden Isle, said the boys, getting conditioning during spring camp, would play from June until the start of fall camp when they put on the pads.
More details on the league will be forthcoming as it develops.
“I love football,” said a parent who heard about the 7 on 7 game. “This is something I would attend.”
