Family business

PALMER — Rhett Magner has spent plenty of time with his father, Randy, on the football field. But Rhett was always the player, and Randy was always the coach.

Things are different now though.

On Monday, Rhett, a former Colony High football standout who played four seasons for his dad with the Knights, officially became a colleague of his football-coaching father.

The two generations of Magners combined to host the first day of a youth football skills camp at the AT&T Sports Center.

“This is the first time we’ve been together doing it,” said Rhett, who earned a Division I scholarship to play football at Bowling Green State out of high school. “It’s different, but I’ve still got a lot to learn. It’s always good to have him around.”

Randy, a longtime head coach at Colony who also was an assistant at Palmer High, and Rhett worked with a group of young players, grades fifth through eighth, during a three-hour session. The first day of the clinic focused on specific skills of the quarterback, wide receiver and running back positions.

“Fundamentals, just learning whatever position they want to learn,” Rhett said.

Randy said they want to stress having fun.

“We’re trying to make it fun,” Randy said. “I remember coaching at the high school level, watching kids in through the fifth, and sixth, and seventh and eighth grades and being ready for them. They were great football players at that level. And then they got to high school and they didn’t like it. They got burnt out because it wasn’t fun.”

The skills clinic, which continues through Wednesday, is not just an introduction of football for the young athletes, but also part of Rhett’s track to a coaching career.

“It’s really good to see. He’s learned a lot since he left Colony,” Randy said of his son. “It’s encouraging to see how much he’s learned, how well he relates to the younger guys. He’ll be a good coach.”

Rhett graduated from Weber State University in Ohio and moved back to Alaska in January. He started working at the AT&T Sports Center in April.

“We’ve been trying to get more kids involved with athletics,” Rhett said. “They asked me if I wanted to do a football camp.”

Growing up with a coach as a dad, coaching is in Rhett’s blood, and he said he wants it to be part of his future.

“To what capacity, I don’t know. I do want to be involved in coaching in some way, shape or form,” Rhett said.

Rhett, a 2005 graduate of Colony who also played basketball with the Knights, has already returned to his alma mater’s boys basketball program. He started by putting together the players’ speed and power training program. Now he’s coaching speed, power training and weight training this winter.

But regardless of what Rhett does, he doesn’t want to stray far from the football field.

“Not really reliving the glory days, but just still trying to be around it as much as possible is what I want to do,” Rhett said.

The clinic continues today and Wednesday, 9 a.m. to noon, on the practice field behind the AT&T Sports Center. Boys and girls grades fifth through eighth interested in participating in the final days of the clinic can contact the AT&T Sports Center at 746-9529.