Marble Falls football camp ‘triples’ in participants

CAPTION: Head coach Keri Timmerman is at one of the passing drills where he is emphasizing the mechanics. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro

The Marble Falls Independent School District football program ended the final week of July with its annual Mustang Camp where between 140-180 campers participated.

The camp was July 28-31at Mustang Stadium.

MFISD athletic director and football head coach Keri Timmerman was pleased.

“We tripled our numbers from last year,” he said. “Getting youth to come has been a big deal – it’s a huge deal getting our youth.”

Many of the youth are members of Marble Falls Youth Football and Cheer where they spent an hour with the coaching staff on one side of the 50-yard line as their youth coaches walked around and observed drills and heard what the school district coaches were saying and teaching.

Meanwhile, players in grades 7-9 spent the first hour with co-defensive coordinators Ryan Craven and Austin Silva and their staff working on defensive drills.

Players were split into position groups and were led through the mechanics of those positions. Silva was close to the linebackers as defensive line coach Karl “Beef” Bielfeldt worked with the linemen.

Secondary coach Jamie Graham worked with the defensive backs as did other coaches spread throughout that side of the field. Craven spent his time here.

The work wasn’t easy, especially at 6 p.m. when the humidity tested the players’ wills. About 40 minutes in, coaches wanted to see the same high energy when all the groups came together for ball pursuit drills complete with an interception and a return where players went from making a tackle to blocking for big gains.

After the first hour, Timmerman gathered the entire group together, talked to them about what he saw and emphasized bringing the same intensity for the final hour. Then the youth football members went to the practice fields or participated in defensive drills while the seventh-, eighth- and ninth-graders went to offensive drills.

The athletic director also noted the number of parents and fans in the stands and on the sidelines, adding that “the excitement for kids and parents” could be felt throughout Mustang Stadium.

While it’s too early to see what position each elementary child will play in the foreseeable future, Timmerman indicated he was encouraged by their willingness to learn and their excitement to play the sport.

The emphasis, he said, is teaching the basics of the sport and keeping it fun as they’re still learning.

Meanwhile, the older players are learning more of the base offensive and defensive schemes, how coaches want them to do certain mechanics, and “how we align,” Timmerman said.

He is entering his second season at the helm and pointed out coaches are still teaching the players the Mustang way of how drills, mechanics and other parts of the program are done. The challenge is the sheer number of seventh and eighth-graders playing football for a smaller coaching staff unlike at the high school where more coaches on the field allows more eyes to observe and correct quicker. Practices may be filmed, broken down and talked about in position meetings.

“They don’t get what we do here,” Timmerman said. “Until they know how to do the same things over and over It’s like starting over with them daily. Every day is a new day.”

Still, he believes the camp served its purpose of getting players ready for the 2025 season and athletes and families exited the stadium more excited for what’s coming.

“I was real excited to see a lot of the kids out,” he said. “We’re having fun and we’re pumped.”

CAPTION: Coach Michael Powell gives directions for Hunter Freeman as Clayton Drake waits his turn. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro