Summer football: More than 350 Alaska players part of 27th annual camp

PALMER — The first official prep football practice is still more than a month away, but Palmer High offensive coordinator Tim Popowski spent his afternoon at Machetanz Field Friday running through plays with his players.

But Popowski, and the handful of other Palmer coaches on the turf, had a little bit of help.

A different set of eyes and a fresh perspective.

Milikin University offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Budziszewski was also there to work with the players and the coaches. Budziszewski is one of 35 coaches and counselors in the Valley this weekend working with more then 350 Alaska football players at the annual All-Alaska Football Camp.

“What’s nice is we get a college coach to help us out,” Palmer head coach Rod Christiansen said as Popowski and Budziszewski directed the Moose offense. “You get to pick his brain, (learn) the different things they do.”

Players from nearly every program in the state were spread across four venues — Palmer High, Colony High, Wasilla High and Palmer Junior Middle School — Friday afternoon And at each school, players and coaches from across the state had a chance to work with camp coaches.

Randy Klingenmeyer, who helped create the camp nearly 30 years ago, said the All-Alaska Football Camp sets itself apart by tailoring instruction. Klingenmeyer said he pairs college coached with Alaska teams based on offensive or defensive system. Colony runs a 4-4 defense. Klingenmeyer said they work to find a college coach who works with that system to work with the Knights.

Klingenmeyer said the staff members at the 2018 camp include some of the top high school coaches in the country.

“Those guys are here to meet special needs, special wants,” Klingenmeyer said.

He used Chugiak and Soldotna as examples. Chugiak runs the flexbone offense. Soldotna is a Wing-T program.

“Very few colleges run them, but they are still very dynamic high school offenses,” Klingenmeyer said. “Teams run it well and have tremendous success.”

Pairing the right camp coach with each Alaska program is a focus.

“We spend a lot of time bringing in the right people,” Klingenmeyer said.

The afternoons of the four-day camp are reserved for team practice. But the camp also features morning work set aside for individual skills at Colony High, the official host of the camp. Klingenmeyer said camp officials make sure there are coaches who can work with every position in the game of football.

The camp serves multiple purposes, Klingenmeyer said. In addition to providing Alaska players the opportunity to work with college coaches, the camp serves as a showcase for Alaska talent. More than 50 players who attended the 2017 All-Alaska Football Camp will play college football in 2018 college programs represented in the 2017 camp.

“Three-quarters of the kids that go somewhere out of Alaska (to play football) get connected out of this camp,” Christiansen said.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.