Missouri Western football encouraged of future after 2021 youth camp

Brandon Zenner, St. Joseph News-Press, Mo.
·2 min read

Jun. 10—Growing up, Quentin Trotter knew Missouri Western football as much as anybody.

With his father, Regi, on the coaching staff at his alma mater from 2005 until 2016, the Missouri Western freshman grew up around the Griffons.

This week, he used the opportunity to give back.

To be one of these guys for these kids to look up to," he said, "it's really cool, a really cool feeling."

More than 250 youth football players from around the area spanning from Kansas City to well north of St. Joseph came to Missouri Western for a three-day youth camp for ages from elementary school to middle school.

After rebuilding a program since he took over as head coach in 2017, Matt Williamson said this year was the most successful yet.

"It's absolutely amazing. We had to bring some more of our players out, hire some more people," Williamson said with a smile.

When it comes to football skills, the early years are spent learning the basic techniques and safety of the game. A large contingency of the Griffon team was on hand with coaches to break it down for campers, working on everything from passing to catching, kicking, and even spanning.

But the root of the activities are to instill a love for the game in an area of the region that has struggled to produce a youth football system, which thrives in surrounding communities but lacks in St. Joseph. Williamson came aware from the week encouraged.

"The future of football, everyone's excited," he said. "The youth in this area, football's gonna get a lot better."

Trotter's responsibilities throughout the week as a second-year player whose season was canceled by COVID-19 were to run stations, which included footwork and catching on Wednesday.

But in between reps, he spent time answering questions, giving tips and sharing his passion for the game.

"It's always been cool to go to these camps and have football players there helping out," Trotter said. "That's really all this camp is for, to inspire, help them love the game like I do."

Brandon Zenner can be reached at brandon.zenner@newspressnow.com. Follow him on Twitter: @NPNowZenner.