Summer camp helps Red Devils hone skills before official practice begins in August
Warm-up drills were part of summer football camp July 18 at Hinsdale Central High School. One drill challenging players to leap as far as they can is called "bounding." (Jim Slonoff photos)
Hinsdale Central varsity head football coach Brian Griffin works with members of the special teams unit on techniques for blocking field goals at the team's summer training camp session July 18 at Dickinson Field. (Jim Slonoff photos)
Players work on blocking skills under the watchful eye of assistant coach Brendan Lynch, a Hinsdale Central alum, during individual drills at the team's summer training camp. Assistant coach Cole Dow gives pointers on handling field goal-holding duties to junior Jack Lesniewicz.
The sun is shining and a cool breeze is blowing the morning of July 18 as Hinsdale Central juniors and seniors arrive for their seventh day of football camp at Dickinson Field. Before camp started July 8, it had been more than eight months since players and coaches were on the gridiron.
"It always feels like a long time coming, but once it's here, its such a familiar, comfortable feeling, so it's great," varsity head coach Brian Griffin said.
Quarterback Riley Contreras, a junior, agrees.
"It feels great," he said. "This is what we all love to do. Coming out with your friends in the morning, getting better, playing some football."
Getting better involves learning new skills and practicing familiar ones. Specific situations - like kicking a field goal - are reviewed in what coaches call "installs." Players new to varsity learn how the team approaches various situations - and returning varsity players get a refresher.
"If you don't take time to walk through it on the front end, they get confused pretty quickly," Griffin said.
In addition to warm ups, this three-hour camp includes two installs, two individual position drills and two competition sets.
During one of the installs on field goal kicks, Griffin identifies where each player on the line should stand and whom they are responsible for blocking. Junior Micah Drescher kicks several balls through the uprights, and then it's time for the players to rotate.
"I want a new set of defensive linemen ready to go," Griffin calls.
Midfield, Contreras is throwing a series of beautiful spirals down the field to his receivers, and another set of plays are being rehearsed at the opposite end zone. Before long, the installs are over.
"Now we've got to switch gears and get better at our individuals," Griffin shouts to the players.
Defensive lineman move to the south end zone to work with linebacker coach Brendan Lynch, a former Red Devil who graduated in 1987. He runs the guys through a down block drill.
"LT does this all the time," he tells his players. "Get your hands a little higher. Keep on fighting. That's it! Keep on fighting!"
Next players run through the competition drills, with Griffin calling out various scenarios as players get in formation on the line of scrimmage. Assistant coaches offer tips to individual players on the heels of each play.
A five-minute "halftime" follows.
"We just try to keep it variable," Griffin told The Hinsdalean Friday. "You try to mimic games in practice, so you try to create those starts and stops that make games hard."
Griffin, who has been the head coach since 2019, said he tries to step in wherever he's needed during camps and practices.
"There are a lot of coaches out of the building who work real jobs," he said. "They work hard to be out there every day, but it's hard."
In addition to three weeks of summer camp, including three days of "away camp" this week at North Central College, players are responsible for studying plays and watching film between practices.
"Position to position, what you need to know is bigger or smaller," Griffin said. "The farther away you move from the ball, probably the more you need to be able to know."
Griffin said his goal is to create plays that will help the team succeed without being so complex that the execution is impossible.
"As the game evolves, there is more and more that teams are trying to do, and it's finding that sweet spot of trying to be multiple and keep other teams confused but simple enough so the team can do it effectively and consistently. As a coach, I feel like that's one of the hardest balances to strike."
Football is not an easy sport, Contreras notes at camp.
"We come out here knowing what we have to do," he said. "I think we'll come together as a group better and win some football games."
Griffin knows how it feels to win. He was a senior on the 2002 Central team that went undefeated en route to a West Suburban Silver Conference championship and state playoff berth. He happens to be wearing a T-shirt indicating as much at the July 18 practice. And his former coach, Ken Schreiner, happens to stop by.
"I just wanted to see Griff, and I wanted to remember some old times that I had that were great with the kids," said Schreiner, who retired from Central following that special season having coached football for 11 years and served as athletic director for 10.
"I don't think I can be part of the inside run," the former coach joked with his former player.
Another former Red Devil who made an appearance at camp this summer was Kiran Amegadjie, a 2020 Central grad recently drafted by the Chicago Bears.
"It's a cool moment," Griffin said of his visit. "It's a cool part of the program right now to be part of and see him. He's in ton of articles right now."
The Allen brothers - including former LA Rams and current Cleveland Browns center Brian Allen - also have stopped by.
"They've come by and talked to the kids and other alumni have come and worked with the kids. That's been a consistent thing with the linemen, and they've had a lot of success. It's been cool to have them come back and be part of it," Griffin related.
He praised his players for the hard work they put in and the passion they put into the game.
"It's been a fun summer camp so far," he said. "We're excited to see how that translates into games this fall."
