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The Warriors football program hosted its seventh annual Warrior Football Camp over the past eight days. About 950 athletes, representing five states and 28 high school football teams, along with a handful of individuals, attended one of two four-day, full-contact team sessions at WSU.
Combined with individuals from last month’s Junior/Senior Elite Camp, this summer was the first in which the Warriors hosted more than 1,000 high school campers. WSU attracted around 90 campers the first year the camp was offered.
“Over the seven years we’ve been going here, we’ve created an
environment that’s a learning environment,” Warriors coach Tom Sawyer said. “For coaches, for players, for our staff, for our players. It’s not just a rock ‘em, sock ’em football thing, it’s a really good teaching station or learning model for everyone involved.”
Several area teams, including Winona, Plainview-Elgin-Millville, Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau and Wabasha-Kellogg attended.
The majority of the teams at camp are returning teams, which has led to the steady growth in attendance and speaks to the quality of the instruction, said Matt Entz, an assistant coach for the Warriors and camp coordinator.
It’s also a chance for the Warriors staff to evaluate talent and introduce potential recruits to WSU facilities, coaches and players. Entz estimated the Warriors signed about a dozen campers from last summer.
“It’s invaluable to get the kids here for almost four days,” Entz said. “We take them on campus tours, we show them our highlight film, they see our facilities. A lot of them don’t really know what Division II football is until they get here.”
Besides getting an early chance to bond with teammates, a big selling point for campers is the interaction with college coaches and athletes — about 35 WSU players and alumni assisted the team sessions.
“You know they’re really good because they win so many games,” said Phil Pfeilsticker, who will be a senior defensive end at Wabasha-Kellogg in the fall. “What they do is right. You get a lot of good material.”
