Former NFL offensive lineman Dave Rimington has lived in
A native of Nebraska, Rimington, who enjoyed an eight-year pro career with the Cincinnati Bengals and Philadelphia Eagles, is currently the president of the Boomer Esiason Foundation, which has raised over $60 million toward finding a cure for cystic fibrosis.
But Rimington makes the trek back to
“It’s nice to get back to where I came from,” said Rimington, who starred for the
“I went to school there and I grew up there. My high school coach is still coaching and he helps coach in the camp. It’s a nice tie-in to be able to go back there once a year and get together with everybody. I’m in the office most of the year, so I do the camp on my vacation. It’s nice to get out of the concrete and get back to the green grass. It’s always nice to come back home.”
The camp, which usually attracts around 300 kids ages 8-14, also features a high school offensive lineman component.
“Last year we had Tunch Ilkin (former NFL Pro Bowl lineman) come in and he helped out and taught his ‘Tunch Punch,’” said Rimington, who was selected in the first round of the 1983 NFL Draft by Cincinnati after a career at Nebraska that saw him win the Outland Trophy twice as the nation’s best linemen.
“We’ve had a couple of other NFL guys come in and usually have some of the Husker players talk and some youth and high school coaches from the area come in.”
Rimington’s motivation for holding the camp is rather simple.
“Football is a big part of my life,” said Rimington, who was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997. “This is a way that I can give back to the kids. It also raises money for cystic fibrosis.”
The youth camp is designed to teach a variety of skills to the players.
“We have stations and each kid learns a new skill at the station,” said Rimington. “There’s one for backs and the line and the defensive line. We try and keep all of the big guys together. They all get a chance to do each skill and learn the basic fundamentals of the game.”
The high school portion of the camp is catered to the offensive line aspect.
“The kids get a lot out of it,” said Rimington, whose namesake award is now in its eight season of honoring the top center in college football. “It forces me to keep up on the current things that are being taught. We teach the kids the fundamentals like learning what the proper stances are. We show them how to be in a stance without giving away what the play is. We do a lot of things out of a basic stance. We stick with the basics. It’s like golf. If you screw up your grip, other things are going to get messed up. It all goes back to blocking and tackling. As fancy as this game can get, it always comes back to those two things. We get a little more fancy with the high school portion, but for the youth, we want them to learn the different positions.”
Rimington is also an advocate of sampling as many positions and sports as possible.
“Don’t get stuck playing just one position when you are younger, even if you are a big guy,” said Rimington. “Play as many sports as you can. Half the fun is learning how to play a sport. You don’t have to be great at it. Learn different skills when you are younger. Try it all. The most fun I had as a youth was going out and playing baseball with my friends. Have fun and learn as many things as you can. You can specialize as you get older.”
The 2008 Dave Rimington Football Camp will be held July 7-9 in
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Story courtesy of Red Line Editorial, Inc.