NFL punters to teach the game to kids at camp
Published: July 1, 2008
FORMER ALL-AMERICAN Ryan Dutton is ready for the third installment of his football camp on the shimmering FieldTurf at Sonora High School's Dunlavy Field.
"This is a great football community," says Ryan Dutton. "These kids here love football and they want to be out on that field someday, whether playing for Summerville High School or Sonora High."Dutton, 29, a two-sport letterman at Minnesota State in Mankato (class of 2002), puts a high premium on proper instruction."I had great coaches growing up and good values instilled in me, so now I want to pass this on to kids."
The third annual Ryan Dutton's "Stars of Tomorrow Football Camp" will run July 10, 11 and 12 at Sonora High's Dunlavy Field."The first day of the camp, we'll work on the fundamentals: Correct positioning, footwork, running mechanics. The second day we'll get into gadgets — letting the kids have some fun while learning along with offensive and defensive skill work. We'll then break down into their specific positions."
The third day, what Dutton calls "our fun day," is set up to resemble a mock National Football League combine camp.
"This day will be what the college all-stars go through when the NFL is looking at them. We'll have a big obstacle course and we'll take what we've learned over the first two-and-a-half days and let the kids have fun with their buddies and compete a little bit."
Assisting Dutton in running the camp is Adam Anderson, a former punter with the Detroit Lions, the Atlanta Falcons and the Hamburg Sea Devils of NFL Europe.
Anderson, 27, now an assistant pastor in Chicago, said, "More than anything, you always want to help kids get to the next level. When you've been to the top, you want to send the elevator back down. Ryan feels the same. We want to give kids what football has given us."
"Adam has such a wide range of knowledge of the game," said Dutton. "He has a lot of different skills."Anderson was an all-state linebacker at Chesaning High School in Michigan. At Western Michigan University, Anderson earned all-Mid American Conference honors as a punter.
"For kickers and punters there's a bad stereotype," said Anderson. "People don't always look at us as football players. But the majority of guys that make it to the NFL are real athletes."
Dutton was an all-conference quarterback as well as all-American punter in college. He made the Cleveland Browns as a punter in 2004.
In 2005, he signed with the Seattle Seahawks, who eventually placed Dutton on their NFL Europe team — the Amsterdam Admirals. As well as punting for Amsterdam while it won the league championship, Dutton served as backup quarterback.
Dutton's goal of becoming a starting punter with an American NFL team was hampered after suffering a stress fracture in his right tibia.
He did make the Oakland Raiders' practice squad at the end of 2005 and then signed with the Green Bay Packers in 2006.
For Dutton, a three-sport all-state athlete at Oshkosh West High in Wisconsin, a contract with the Packers was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.
Even after being cut by the Packers, Dutton still persisted onward and went to camp in 2006 and 2007 with both the Raiders and San Fransisco 49ers.
"I think the parents around here appreciate that someone with my experience is willing to teach the kids about football," said Dutton. "That's one of the reasons I invite the parents to come and watch our camp. I didn't grow up in a huge town and I want the kids at our camp to know you don't have to go to a big school in a big city to have big dreams and aspirations."
Said Anderson, "Ryan is very detailed, very focused on the mental aspects of the game. You can be the most talented kid in the world, but if you don't have the focus, the mental preparations, you can fall through the cracks. This is where I think Ryan excels as a teacher."
In looking at the roster of kids who are already signed up for this months' camp, Dutton said, "I'm recognizing the names from the last two years and we're getting a lot of parents saying, ‘My kid really enjoyed it before and wants to do it again this year.' "
Dutton smiles.
"To me, that's what it's all about."
The third annual Ryan Dutton's "Stars of Tomorrow Football Camp" will run July 10, 11 and 12 at Sonora High's Dunlavy Field."The first day of the camp, we'll work on the fundamentals: Correct positioning, footwork, running mechanics. The second day we'll get into gadgets — letting the kids have some fun while learning along with offensive and defensive skill work. We'll then break down into their specific positions."
The third day, what Dutton calls "our fun day," is set up to resemble a mock National Football League combine camp.
"This day will be what the college all-stars go through when the NFL is looking at them. We'll have a big obstacle course and we'll take what we've learned over the first two-and-a-half days and let the kids have fun with their buddies and compete a little bit."
Assisting Dutton in running the camp is Adam Anderson, a former punter with the Detroit Lions, the Atlanta Falcons and the Hamburg Sea Devils of NFL Europe.
Anderson, 27, now an assistant pastor in Chicago, said, "More than anything, you always want to help kids get to the next level. When you've been to the top, you want to send the elevator back down. Ryan feels the same. We want to give kids what football has given us."
"Adam has such a wide range of knowledge of the game," said Dutton. "He has a lot of different skills."Anderson was an all-state linebacker at Chesaning High School in Michigan. At Western Michigan University, Anderson earned all-Mid American Conference honors as a punter.
"For kickers and punters there's a bad stereotype," said Anderson. "People don't always look at us as football players. But the majority of guys that make it to the NFL are real athletes."
Dutton was an all-conference quarterback as well as all-American punter in college. He made the Cleveland Browns as a punter in 2004.
In 2005, he signed with the Seattle Seahawks, who eventually placed Dutton on their NFL Europe team — the Amsterdam Admirals. As well as punting for Amsterdam while it won the league championship, Dutton served as backup quarterback.
Dutton's goal of becoming a starting punter with an American NFL team was hampered after suffering a stress fracture in his right tibia.
He did make the Oakland Raiders' practice squad at the end of 2005 and then signed with the Green Bay Packers in 2006.
For Dutton, a three-sport all-state athlete at Oshkosh West High in Wisconsin, a contract with the Packers was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.
Even after being cut by the Packers, Dutton still persisted onward and went to camp in 2006 and 2007 with both the Raiders and San Fransisco 49ers.
"I think the parents around here appreciate that someone with my experience is willing to teach the kids about football," said Dutton. "That's one of the reasons I invite the parents to come and watch our camp. I didn't grow up in a huge town and I want the kids at our camp to know you don't have to go to a big school in a big city to have big dreams and aspirations."
Said Anderson, "Ryan is very detailed, very focused on the mental aspects of the game. You can be the most talented kid in the world, but if you don't have the focus, the mental preparations, you can fall through the cracks. This is where I think Ryan excels as a teacher."
In looking at the roster of kids who are already signed up for this months' camp, Dutton said, "I'm recognizing the names from the last two years and we're getting a lot of parents saying, ‘My kid really enjoyed it before and wants to do it again this year.' "
Dutton smiles.
"To me, that's what it's all about."
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