Huskies make surprise visit to youth football camp

Published 12:07 am Tuesday, July 14, 2009

There was a buzz around Bonney Lake High School last week during a youth football camp when a pair of Husky football players appeared.

University of Washington quarterback Jake Locker and offensive tackle Cody Habben were guests at the July 8 session of the Panther Future Champs Football Camp at Bonney Lake High School.

The camp, for boys in third through eighth grades, was hosted by Panther coach Chad Barrett, his coaching staff and several players.

Locker, a 6-foot-3 junior, registered one of the most prolific seasons ever for a freshman quarterback at Washington in 2007 when he set school freshman records for passing and rushing.

The former Ferndale High standout said he started playing flag football at age 4.

“It’s a game and nothing more than that,” Locker said. “I love playing the game, but there are more important things in life than football.”

He told the group the things to remember are the “friendships they’re making now and the players who play with and the relationships.”

Locker stressed the importance of education.

“If you can’t keep up with your school work, you can’t go to college to play football,” he added.

Habben, a 6-foot-3, 300-pound junior, played at Skyline High School in Sammamish while Barrett was on the coaching staff there in 2005. He has been a starter at the UW since his freshman season.

Barrett said Habben was “the best player he’d ever coached.”

“Me and Jake both started out like this at camps,” Habben said. “It’s a fun time, enjoy it.”

Habben told the group he started playing football in the eighth grade and he dreamed about playing college football for Nebraska.

“The school changed and I went to UW,” he said.

After talking to the campers, both players answered questions from the youngsters.

“Any chance you get to come and talk to a group of young player and tell them what this game means to you and what it has done for your life, I think is good,” Locker said.

Some parents took advantage of the moment, having photos of their children taken with Locker and Habben, along with the duo signing footballs, caps, shirts and shoes.

During the four-day camp, participants were instructed on the fundamentals of the game and went through running, blocking, passing and other agility drills.

About 60 boys attended the camp and were divided into eight teams and played two game each on touch football. Each camper received a T-shirt and logo football.

At the end of each day, the “Gatorade Award” was presented to a player of each team by BLHS players who served as coaches.

The program is operated by the Sumner/Bonney Lake Recreation Department.