Players give back to community at Kids Clinic prior to spring practice
Parents took videos and pictures as children ran around the field and football players smiled.
That was the scene at Turf Bay in the Indoor Athletic Complex and Kelly/Shorts Stadium early Saturday morning as members of the Central Michigan football team gave back to the community through the annual Football Family Fest.
The Kids Clinic participants, children in eighth grade or below, started off the event with autographs from Chippewa players. Each child was given a poster for all of the players to sign.
"I've always been into giving back to the community and having fun with kids," said junior wide receiver JaCorey Sullivan. "To see them come out here and have fun means a lot to me and I had the opportunity to have fun with someone that I don't know and make an impact."
Director of Football Operations Ben Presnell then gathered the group and sectioned them off into teams led by running back Jonathan Ward, wide receiver Brandon Childress, offensive lineman Steve Eipper, quarterback Tommy Lazzaro and quarterback Quinten Dormady.
Dormady was the lone "captain" of the Kids Clinic who is a newcomer to the program. He's here as a graduate transfer from Houston after also spending time as the starting quarterback at Tennessee.
Presnell and the team captains brought their respective groups on tours of the locker room before heading to Kelly/Shorts Stadium to participate in drills.
Senior linebacker Michael Oliver has helped facilitate the clinic for five years, and his great experience has not wavered from his freshman year to his senior year.
"It's amazing," Oliver said. "I've been seeing it from the time I got here to now, and it's an amazing process to be able to give back to the kids. Something I've never had before."
Mount Pleasant native Andy Roggenbuch, 35, said that it was the fourth year that his family has taken part in the Football Family Fest. He said every opportunity to do so is a blast.
"It's fun to go outside, especially after winter," Roggenbuch said. "To see all the players do all the drills, kids get a kick out of it."
When the kids made their way to the field, the players took their turn to lead a series of nine different drills that featured a variety of touchdown scoring and celebration dances.
One corner of the north end zone, kids made diving catches and showcased their favorite dance moves, many of which stemmed from the popular video game Fortnite.
In the center of the end zone, players led blocking drills that had each participant drive the CMU player back, then turn and make a touchdown catch. The other corner of the end zone featured the kids running and making catches for touchdowns.
The east sideline saw two run-heavy drills that had participants sprint and turn around sets of helmets on the ground. The kids would then catch a football on their run back to the starting point. The next drill along the sideline was a defensive drill. Participants ran around hoops set on the ground and tackled a dummy bag as hard as they could.
The south end zone had two drills, one offense and one special teams. The east sideline had participants take carries and stiff arm players on their way to a touchdown. In the middle, senior kicker Ryan Tice led the way on a field goal kicking drill. There was one instance where Tice sat on the ground and positioned his arms like the uprights. The child kicking was on the money for a made field goal.
Over on the west sideline, hurdles were the theme. At the southwest portion, participants ran around two barrels, jumped three hurdles and ran through a dummy bag onto a mat. The northwest part of the field had each child jump a hurdle then make a catch thrown by a CMU wide receiver on their way to a touchdown.
"My favorite part was the attacking one," said Luke LeMae, 7 from Ontario, Canada.
His father Al LeMae, 43, said it was fun to see his son run around on the same field that the Chippewas compete on.
"He had a great time," Al said. "It was fun to see him run around and interact with the players."
After the "training camp" was completed, everyone was treated to pizza and had the opportunity to play on different inflatables outside of the stadium.
The parents and children then intently watched CMU's open spring practice – the conclusion of the event.
